Aflatoxin B1 Occurrence in Children under the Age of Five’s Food Products and Aflatoxin M1 Exposure Assessment and Risk Characterization of Arab Infants through Consumption of Infant Powdered Formula: A Lebanese Experience

Abstract

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a salient metabolite that can be used to assess Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure in humans and animals. The carcinogenic potency of AFB1 and AFM1 was severely reported. The aims of this study were (1) to survey the contamination level of AFM1 in the most traded infant powdered formula brands (IPF) (n = 42) along with the AFB1 level in under 5’s children food brands (biscuits, cornflakes, and cereals) (n = 42) and (2) to assess the estimated daily intake (EDI), the hazard quotient (HQ) and the margin of exposure (MOE) of AFM1 among infants (0–12 months) in Lebanon. All of the samples were analyzed using ELISA technique. AFB1 was below detection limit in all of the children’s food brands samples. Out of 42 IPF samples 9.5% were AFM1-positive in the range of 29.54–140.16 ng/L and exceeded the maximum tolerable limit (MTL) set by the European commission (25 ng/kg). The overall average contamination level was 5.72 ± 0.014 ng/L. The EDI of AMF1 for male was in the range of 0.37–0.78 ng/kg/b.w./day and 0.40–0.87 ng/kg/b.w./day for females. Similarly, the HQ calculation resulted in an average of 3.05 for males and 3.28 for females. MOE calculations were far lower from 10,000 in both genders which indicates a high risk of genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Despite that, AFM1′s EDI and HQ scored low among Lebanese infants but unambiguously the risk characterization still substantial. As infants consume more IPF relative to their body weight, the persistence of IPF with high AFM1 levels threatens their health. Thus, infant’s exposure risk to AFM1 in IPF should be a continuous focus of attention.

Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Conserved Grass and Legume Forages – A Systematic Review

“…In humans, AFs intoxication cause immunosuppression, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, and impaired child growth. In production animals, these toxins may cause weight gain and inadequate food conversion, besides liver disorders (Daou et al, 2022;Mostrom and Jacobsen, 2020). Aflatoxin M 1 (AFM 1 ) is the biotransformed form of AFB 1 excreted in milk and body fluids of animals.…”

Occurrence of mycotoxins in pastures: A systematic review

“…AFB 1 was detected in only one study by Reed and Moore (2009), who reported this mycotoxin in 15% of the pasture samples from Australia at levels of 14-15 µg/kg, which is close to the limit determined by the United States and EU for animal feed (European Commission, 2010;FDA, 2016). The occurrence of high levels of AFB 1 in feed of dairy cows is alarming, considering that 0.35-6.2% of the parent compound may be excreted into milk as AFM 1 (Souza et al, 2021), and the fact that this metabolite also exhibits carcinogenic properties and toxic effects on the liver, kidneys, hematopoietic stem cells, and immune system (Daou et al, 2022;Jafari et al, 2021;Mokhtarian et al, 2020). In addition, AFM 1 remains stable in milk and other dairy products even after conventional thermal processing performed in dairy plants (Pires et al, 2022;Souza et al, 2021), thus representing a remarkable danger to human health, especially to infants (0-12 months) (Daou et al., 2022;Jafari et al, 2021).…”

“…The occurrence of high levels of AFB 1 in feed of dairy cows is alarming, considering that 0.35-6.2% of the parent compound may be excreted into milk as AFM 1 (Souza et al, 2021), and the fact that this metabolite also exhibits carcinogenic properties and toxic effects on the liver, kidneys, hematopoietic stem cells, and immune system (Daou et al, 2022;Jafari et al, 2021;Mokhtarian et al, 2020). In addition, AFM 1 remains stable in milk and other dairy products even after conventional thermal processing performed in dairy plants (Pires et al, 2022;Souza et al, 2021), thus representing a remarkable danger to human health, especially to infants (0-12 months) (Daou et al., 2022;Jafari et al, 2021). Hence, the absence of data from African and Asian continents, and the few data reported in South American countries stress the need for studies on the occurrence of mycotoxins in pastures from those regions.…”

The Classification of Aflatoxin Contamination Level in Cocoa Beans using Fluorescence Imaging and Deep learning

“…A recent review by [1] estimated that 60% -80% of the world's food crops were contaminated by aflatoxin. Aflatoxin can harm human health, leading to death [2][3], cancer [4][5], immune system disruption [6], and stunted child growth [7][8]. Aspergillus flavus produces aflatoxin, a secondary metabolite that thrives in uncontrolled processing and storage condition [9].…”