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Mycotoxin contamination of foodstuffs is a serious food safety concern globally as the prolonged ingestion of these toxins has the tendency to worsen the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed at estimating ochratoxin A (OTA) and aflatoxin (AF) levels above international (European Food Safety Authority, EFSA) and local (Ghana Standards Authority, GSA) standards as well as the health risks associated with the consumption of maize (n = 180) sampled from six (6) regions representing the agro-ecological zones of Ghana. OTA and AF were measured with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with a Fluorescence detector. Out of the 180 samples analyzed for total aflatoxins (AFtotal), 131/180 tested positive and 127 (70.50%) exceeded the limits of EFSA and ranged 4.27–441.02 µg/kg. While for GSA, 116 (64.44%) of samples exceeded this limit and ranged between 10.18 and 441.02 µg/kg. For OTA, 103/180 tested positive and 94 (52.22%) of samples between the range 4.00–97.51 µg/kg exceeded the tolerable limit of EFSA, whereas 89 (49.44%) and were in the range of 3.30–97.51 µg/kg exceeded the limits of GSA. Risk assessment values for total aflatoxins (AFtotal) ranged between 50 and 1150 ng/kg bw/day, 0.4–6.67, 0–0.0323 aflatoxins ng/kg bw/day and 1.62–37.15 cases/100,000 person/year for Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Margin of Exposure (MOE), Average Potency, and Cancer Risks respectively. Likewise, ochratoxin (OTA) values were in the ranges of 8.6 × 10–3–450 ng/kg bw/day, 0.05–2059.97, 0–0.0323 ochratoxins ng/kg bw/day and 2.78 × 10–4–14.54 cases/100,000 person/year. Consumption of maize posed adverse health effects in all age categories of the locations studied since the calculated MOE values were less than 10,000.

Three hundred crossbred chickens (at age of 11 wk) were randomly housed in 15 open-sided deep litter pens with 20 chickens in each pen under completely randomized design for a period of 9 wk. Before evaluating their hematobiochemical and carcass characteristics, the birds were provided with grower mash ad libitum throughout the experimental period. Blood samples were taken from each genotypic group ( nanaff , Nanaff , and NanaFf ), when the birds were 18 and 20 wk old, respectively, for the evaluation of hematobiochemical parameters. At the end of the trial, 15 chickens from each of the 3 genotypic groups were randomly selected and slaughtered to determine the carcass parameters. The findings from the study revealed that except for total cholesterol, spleen, and neck weight, there was no significant genotypic effect ( P > 0.05) on hematobiochemical and carcass parameters measured. The nanaff genotype birds had significantly higher ( P < 0.05) cholesterol levels than both Nanaff and NanaFf genotype birds, both of which did not differ significantly. The Nanaff had significantly ( P < 0.05) higher spleen and neck weight than both the nanaff and NanaFf . The latter 2 did not differ significantly ( P > 0.05). Also, hematobiochemical assays of all the birds were within normal range. From a health point of view, the indigenous naked neck genotype seems superior because its fat and cholesterol contents were low. Thus, it is strongly recommended that there should be a conscious effort to develop and commercialize the naked-neck and frizzled birds especially in developing countries.

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Introduction Geophagia although pleasurable and somewhat a necessity among pregnant women, also comes along with its own attendant problems such as exposure to potentially hazardous substances like bacteria, fungi, helminthes and ova, radioactive materials, and toxic elemental minerals in the soil depending on the geographical location. Methodology This study evaluated the potential health risk involved during the exposure of pregnant women to toxic elemental minerals via the consumption of clay as pica (geophagia). Elemental mineral analysis was carried out using Buck Scientific 210VGP Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Buck Scientific, Inc. East Norwalk, USA). Risk assessment methods were also used to ascertain the various risks factors and the overall risk level. Results Concentrations of the macro elements investigated were 1.38 ± 1.5, 2.40 ± 1.5, 7.74 ± 1.5, 4.01 ± 1.0, 13.24 ± 2.2 and 13.76 ± 2.1 mg/Kg for iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na) respectively. While that for the micro elements were 1.63 ± 0.03 μg/Kg, 4.72 ± 0.8, 0.53 ± 0.02 and 1.85 ± 0.3 mg/kg respectively for arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni). Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Hazard Quotient (HQ), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and Total Target Hazard Quotient (TTHQ) values ranged 0.611–5.44 (mg/kg Bw/day), 6.26 × 10− 4 – 106.5, 0.067–10.34 and 15 respectively. Conclusion There is the likelihood of posing adverse health problems when clay samples obtained from Anfoega which is sited in the Volta region of Ghana is consumed due to the fact that the HQ’s of these elemental minerals were > 1 which points to high content of Manganese (Mn) and Nickel (Ni). It is also likely to cause adverse health problems in an individual’s life time since THQ for Arsenic, Lead and Nickel were above 1. Ultimately, the cumulative effect of these toxicants were exceedingly great (≤ 15) which implied a high level of unsafety associated with this clay. Per the results from this study, it is not safe for pregnant women to consume clay as pica since these toxic elements may cause detrimental effects on the foetus of the unborn child.