Exposure and risk characterizations of ochratoxins A and aflatoxins through maize (Zea mays) consumed in different agro-ecological zones of Ghana

Abstract

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.

Toxicogenic Fungi, Aflatoxins, and Antimicrobial Activities Associated with Some Spices and Herbs from Three Selected Markets in Ho Municipality, Ghana

“…Aflatoxin concentrations recorded in this present work were 2:06 ± 0:50 μg/kg and 2:125 ± 0:61 μg/kg, respectively, for gboma and dawadawa and were found to be below regulatory limits for both Ghana Standards Authority (10 μg/kg) and the European Food Safety Authority (4 μg/kg) [40]. Seemingly not harmful, it is worthy to note that no amount of aflatoxin is considered safe no matter how minute it is in public health.…”

“…These levels of AFB 1 are lower than the maximum limits set by Ghanaian regulations (10 μg/ kg). Although the residue limit of aflatoxin levels in spices is not well established in Ghana, a limit of 10 μg/kg has been proposed by Ghana Standards Authority [40]. In the European Union, aflatoxin levels in several spices are regulated to maximum residue levels that cannot be greater than 5 μg/kg for AFB 1 and 10 μg/kg for aflatoxins (AFs) (Commission Regulation (EC) No.…”

Dietary Exposure to Aflatoxins in Some Randomly Selected Foods and Cancer Risk Estimations of Cereals Consumed on a Ghanaian Market

“…Even in places where there are very few reports of mycotoxin contaminations, environmental changes could cause these molds to grown in conducive food samples. Environmental changes that led to dry and hot weather resulted in surges in maize contamination [70,71]. Notwithstanding the foregoing, enzymatic biodegradation of mycotoxins in foods has been suggested as an option to reduce aflatoxins contaminations.…”

Mycotoxin Profile of Honey and Dry-Cured Meat (Kilishi) for Export in Abuja, Nigeria

“…The principal mycotoxins are regulated by the European Union (EU) via Regulation (EC) [19,20] setting the highest permitted levels in µg/kg in certain foodstuffs including animal products and feedstuff. When evaluating the dangers of consuming animal products, mycotoxins among other contaminants need to be regularly monitored from the farmhouse to end-use product and their interaction must be taken into account [21,22]. Given the potential harm caused by food pollutants, the use of confirmatory analytical techniques, such as HPLC for mycotoxin detection in food safety control, is crucial for accurate identification and quantification [23][24][25].…”