Higher Levels of Aflatoxin M1 Contamination and Poorer Composition of Milk Supplied by Informal Milk Marketing Chains in Pakistan

Abstract

The present study was conducted to observe the seasonal variation in aflatoxin M1 and nutritional quality of milk along informal marketing chains. Milk samples (485) were collected from three different chains over a period of one year. The average concentrations of aflatoxin M1 during the autumn and monsoon seasons (2.60 and 2.59 ppb) were found to be significantly higher (standard error of the difference, SED = 0.21: p = 0.003) than in the summer (1.93 ppb). The percentage of added water in milk was significantly lower (SED = 1.54: p < 0.001) in summer (18.59%) than in the monsoon season (26.39%). There was a significantly different (SED = 2.38: p < 0.001) mean percentage of water added by farmers (6.23%), small collectors (14.97%), large collectors (27.96%) and retailers (34.52%). This was reflected in changes in milk quality along the marketing chain. There was no difference (p = 0.178) in concentration of aflatoxin M1 in milk collected from the farmers (2.12 ppb), small collectors (2.23 ppb), large collectors (2.36 ppb) and retailers (2.58 ppb). The high levels of contamination found in this study, which exceed the standards set by European Union (0.05 ppb) and USFDA (0.5 ppb), demand radical intervention by regulatory authorities and mass awareness of the consequences for consumer health and safety.

Occurrence and Seasonal Variations of Aflatoxin M1 in Milk from Punjab, Pakistan

“…The present study results are in exact agreement with previous studies conducted in Pakistan [15,22,27,31,35,56], where they reported higher contamination of milk with AFM 1 in the winter season. The present study found high levels of AFM 1 contamination in milk samples collected in the autumn season (0.751 μg/L) after winter (0.875 μg/L); hence, the results are in agreement with those of Aslam, et al [57], who reported significantly higher AFM 1 levels in milk during the autumn season (2.60 μg/L). Similar studies conducted by Hojjatollah and Sepideh [58] also reported an increased level of AFM 1 contamination in milk during the winter and autumn seasons, with an average value of 54.24 and 34.92 ng/L, respectively.…”

Aflatoxin Contamination of Milk Produced in Peri-urban Farms of Pakistan: Prevalence and Contributory Factors

“…In the latter study, only 3% samples were found to exceed the 500 ng of AFM 1 /L limit, while the former two authors did not find any sample to exceed this limit. Contrary to these studies, Aslam et al (2016) found 87% of milk samples to exceed the 500 ng/L limit in three districts of Punjab province. Likewise, Akbar et al (2019) found 69% milk samples from different regions of the Punjab province to exceed the allowed limit.…”

Aflatoxin M1 detection by ELISA in raw and processed milk in Bangladesh

“…In 2011, Fallah et al disclosed 323 ng/kg as the mean value of aflatoxin M1 in Iran [ 42 ] whereas in 2018, Asghar et al from Pakistan reported 346.2 ng/kg as mean aflatoxin M1 level in 91.7% fresh milk samples [ 43 ]. In 2016, Aslam et al reported presence of aflatoxin M1 in each and every 468 fresh milk samples where 2600 ng/kg was the mean level [ 44 ]. Though occurrence of AFM1 contamination is remarkable in South Asian countries rather than European ones as they possess stringent laws and good storage practices of feedstuffs to control aflatoxins [ 41 ], the present results show lower contamination of AFM1 than some other European countries like Greece and Portugal where up to 90% of aflatoxin M1 presence was noticed in raw milk [ 45 , 46 ] respectively.…”