Aflatoxin B1 levels in groundnut products from local markets in Zambia

Abstract

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.

Present Status and Perspective on the Future Use of Aflatoxin Biocontrol Products

“…Examples of exceptions include cases when the contamination levels reach a national health emergency, such as maize destruction in areas of Kenya, and the banning of several brands of maize flour and peanut butter in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda [16][17][18][19]. Therefore, in emerging and developing nations, most contaminated crops enter the food and feed chains, regardless of their aflatoxin content [3,[20][21][22][23][24][25]. The absence of mechanisms to enforce aflatoxin tolerance levels results in chronic aflatoxin exposure with subsequent lack of access to markets, poverty, low well-being, poor economic growth, being among other constraints in the affected populations [2,26,27].…”

Advances in Crop Improvement and Delivery Research for Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

“…Aflatoxin is a dangerous mycotoxin produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus Link : Fr, from which it draws its name. Aflatoxin contamination, is particularly common in all starchy agricultural food products, because of the ubiquitous nature of the Aspergillus species, a saprophyte that starts infecting crop products, especially grain, from the field to storage in the process producing aflatoxins (Njoroge et al, 2017;Seetha, et al, 2018b); aflatoxin laced food products certainly affect nutrition benefits and trade.…”

Aflatoxins: Production, Structure, Health Issues and Incidence in Southeast Asian and Sub-Saharan African Countries

“…They are produced by various mould species as low-molecular-weight non-immunogenic secondary metabolites whose occurrence has been reported in virtually all foods and feeds [2][3]. Currently, there are more than 450 different known types of mycotoxins and their metabolites, which have been associated with toxicological effects of varying severity degrees spanning from mild gastroenteritis to deadly cancer diseases [4][5]. Aflatoxins produced mainly by Aspergillus species are the most toxic mycotoxins eliciting acute and chronic toxicities, the most severe and notorious of which are genotoxicity, mutagenicity, and immunotoxicity.…”