Detection of Mold in Food by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay.

Evaluation of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting a mold-specific, heat-stable and water-soluble antigen demonstrated the potential of the method for detecting molds in food products. The mold antigen, as produced by Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp., was present in all food samples containing aflatoxin B. The amount of mold antigen present in the test samples was related in each case to the aflatoxin B content. Experiments done with samples artificially inoculated with mycotoxin-producing molds revealed that mold contamination could be detected by ELISA at a very early stage. The minimum detectable amount of mold mycelium for three different species of Penicillium was 38 ng/g of sample.