A survey of the incidence and level of aflatoxin contamination in a range of locally and imported processed foods on Malawian retail market

Matumba, Limbikani; Monjerezi, Maurice; Biswick, Timothy; Mwatseteza, Jonas; Makumba, W. I.; Kamangira, D.; Mtukuso, Alfred

doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.09.068

Cited by 57 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The peanut butter brands that were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin were both from local processors in Zambia, and also imported brands from Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa, thus giving an indication of the regional occurrence of the toxin. This is consistent with reports from neighbouring countries such as Malawi (Matumba et al 2014a;Monyo et al 2012) and Zimbabwe (Mpunga et al 2014) which also showed that aflatoxin contamination is a problem on different groundnut products such as groundnut kernels and peanut butter.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Aflatoxin B1 levels in groundnut products from local markets in Zambia

Njoroge¹,

Matumba

Kanenga

et al. 2017

Mycotoxin Res

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In Zambia, groundnut products (milled groundnut powder, groundnut kernels) are mostly sold in under-regulated markets. Coupled with the lack of quality enforcement in such markets, consumers may be at risk to aflatoxin exposure. However, the level of aflatoxin contamination in these products is not known. Compared to groundnut kernels, milled groundnut powder obscures visual indicators of aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts such as moldiness, discoloration, insect damage or kernel damage. A survey was therefore conducted from 2012 to 2014, to estimate and compare aflatoxin levels in these products (n = 202), purchased from markets in important groundnut growing districts and in urban areas. Samples of whole groundnut kernels (n = 163) and milled groundnut powder (n = 39) were analysed for aflatoxin B (AFB) by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). Results showed substantial AFB contamination levels in both types of groundnut products with maximum AFB levels of 11,100 μg/kg (groundnut kernels) and 3000 μg/kg (milled groundnut powder). However, paired t test analysis showed that AFB contamination levels in milled groundnut powder were not always significantly higher (P > 0.05) than those in groundnut kernels. Even for products from the same vendor, AFB levels were not consistently higher in milled groundnut powder than in whole groundnut kernels. This suggests that vendors do not systematically sort out whole groundnut kernels of visually poor quality for milling. However, the overall contamination levels of groundnut products with AFB were found to be alarmingly high in all years and locations. Therefore, solutions are needed to reduce aflatoxin levels in such under-regulated markets.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Aflatoxin B1 levels in groundnut products from local markets in Zambia

Njoroge¹,

Matumba

Kanenga

et al. 2017

Mycotoxin Res

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“…Processing techniques (such as grain washing, fermentation, dilution, and heat treatment) routinely applied during RTE production may influence mycotoxin levels in the finished product (Ezekiel, Ayeni, et al., ; Ezekiel, Sulyok, et al., ; Karlovsky et al., ; Okeke et al., , ). Nonetheless, mycotoxins in ingredients are commonly carried over to the final product albeit in varying concentrations depending on the toxin levels in the starting raw material (Ezekiel et al., ; Ezekiel, Ayeni, et al., ; Matumba et al., ; Okeke et al., ). Mycotoxin carry‐over is typical, particularly in resource scarce rural settings, where local food processors commonly apply low‐quality grains in the production of RTEs because high‐quality grains are often sold for household income (Ayalew et al., ; Misihairabgwi et al., ).…”

Section: Fungal Contamination Of Rtes From Lmicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiological safety of ready‐to‐eat foods in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A comprehensive 10‐year (2009 to 2018) review

Makinde

Ayeni

Sulyok

et al. 2020

Comp Rev Food Sci Food Safe

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Ready‐to‐eat foods (RTEs) are foods consumed without any further processing. They are widely consumed as choice meals especially by school‐aged children and the fast‐paced working class in most low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), where they contribute substantially to the dietary intake. Depending on the type of processing and packaging material, RTEs could be industrially or traditionally processed. Typically, RTE vendors are of low literacy level, as such, they lack knowledge about good hygiene and food handling practices. In addition, RTEs are often vended in outdoor environments such that they are exposed to several contaminants of microbial origin. Depending on the quantity and type of food contaminant, consumption of contaminated RTEs may result in foodborne diseases and several other adverse health effects in humans. This could constitute major hurdles to growth and development in LMICs. Therefore, this review focuses on providing comprehensive and recent occurrence and impact data on the frequently encountered contaminants of microbial origin published in LMICs within the last decade (2009 to 2018). We have also suggested viable food safety solutions for preventing and controlling the food contamination and promoting consumer health.

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“…Unlike in the EU where there are regular surveys of occurence of multi mycotoxins, until now there are several countries in Africa where there has hardly been any survey carried out to investigate the incidence of mycotoxins on a national basis. Literature search revealed that for Africa with exception of Morroco(Zinedine and Mañes, 2009) even in cases where there is at least a record of mycotoxin survey, it is often a limited survey (few samples) and mostly only focusing on aflatoxins in food commodities on a market(Daniel, et al., 2011;Elshafie et al, 2011;Kamika et al, 2011;Babana et al, 2013;Chala et al, 2013;Asiki et al, 2014;Matumba et al 2014b).…”

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confidence: 99%

Keeping mycotoxins away from the food: Does the existence of regulations have any impact in Africa?

Matumba

Poucke

Ediage

et al. 2015

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

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Following the discovery of aflatoxins in the early 1960s, there have been many studies leading to the uncovering of many mycotoxins and the understanding of associated health effects in animals and humans. Consequently, there has been a global increase in the number of countries with mycotoxin regulations in foods. However, many African countries have only regulations for aflatoxins (or a few other mycotoxins) in specific foods, or no regulations at all. This paper critically reviews the challenges thwarting the establishment of mycotoxin regulations and their impacts on human dietary mycotoxin exposure in Africa. Mycotoxin regulatory limits for different countries are compared with mycotoxin tolerable daily intakes established by international food safety bodies taking into account consumption patterns. The agrarian setup, food insecurity, and mycotoxin analytical challenges in African countries are discussed; and more feasible mycotoxin dietary exposure reduction strategies are proposed.

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A survey of the incidence and level of aflatoxin contamination in a range of locally and imported processed foods on Malawian retail market

Cited by 57 publications

References 23 publications

Aflatoxin B1 levels in groundnut products from local markets in Zambia

Aflatoxin B1 levels in groundnut products from local markets in Zambia

Microbiological safety of ready‐to‐eat foods in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A comprehensive 10‐year (2009 to 2018) review

Keeping mycotoxins away from the food: Does the existence of regulations have any impact in Africa?

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