This study investigated the surface-to-interior mycotoxin contamination of the regional speciality meat product 'slavonski kulen' that occurred during a 12-month period and identified moulds present on its surface during the final production stage. In total, 15 pieces of slavonski kulen were produced and sampled at production months 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 (three samples per piece). Concentrations of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) were determined using the ELISA method, while the identification of moulds made use of both traditional and molecular methods. A 12-month-long production of dry-fermented sausages under controlled conditions that did not include product cleaning at any point caused significant mycotoxin contamination, with determined mean AFB1 and OTA concentrations of 11.79 ± 2.34 and 16.13 ± 3.32 µg kg-1, respectively. Significantly higher mycotoxin levels were observed in the external layers of the products in comparison with their interior and, even more so, central parts. In total, five Penicillium species (P. polonicum, P. terrigenum, P. solitum, P. jugoslavicum and P. corylophilum) and two Aspergillus species (A. versicolor and A. sydowii) were isolated. Moulds responsible for the production of AFB1 and OTA in the later production stages had probably been overgrown by non-toxicogenic moulds, so that the former did not last until the end of the sausages' production process and were therefore not identified.
Keywords: Aflatoxin B1; Aspergillus; Penicillium; moulds identification; ochratoxin A; ‘slavonski kulen’.