Performance validation of the Flow Through Rapid Test Membrane-Based Immunoassay Test for ochratoxin a in wine using a quantitative high performance liquid chromatography method

The Flow Through Rapid Test (FTRT) Membrane-Based Immunoassay kit (EIA) from Euro-Diagnostica BV was successfully validated at the Laboratory of Food Analysis, Ghent University, in Belgium. The FTRT and Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) test kits were used for screening red wine for OTA and the results were validated by HPLC analysis. The samples which consisted of red and rose wines were from diverse origins. The FTRT test kit contained everything required for the test. The FTRT and EIA were performed according to the manufacturer's instructions. The EIA had a recovery range of 80%. According to the FTRT screening results 12 samples (30%) of the 40 red wine samples were positive for OTA. The HPLC confirmation showed that 23 samples (57%) were contaminated with OTA and 8 samples (20%) had levels above the 1 ppb cut-off level. Four samples (10%) gave a false positive result and this was within the maximum false positive rate of 10% for screening tests. There were, however, no false negative results. The Flow Through Rapid Test, therefore, had a 90% correlation with the HPLC confirmatory analysis.