In tropical zones, OTA is mainly produced in coffee beans by three Aspergillus species: A. carbonarius, A. niger section Nigri and A. ochraceus section Circumdati. Among them, the most important OTA producer and the most frequently isolated is A. carbonarius. In temperate zones Penicillium verrucosum and P. nordicum are known to synthetize OTA in food commodities. Ochratoxin is a secondary metabolite produced by various filamentous fungi contaminating in a wide range of food and animal feedstuffs. OTA has been shown to possess nephrotoxic, carcinogenic, immunodepressive and teratogenic properties. In order to understand the OTA contamination process in foodstuffs, PCR-DGGE (Polymerase Chain Reaction - Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) assays were carried out on coffee microflora. PCR-DGGE is used to characterize the microbial flora of food products. (Texte intégral)