Aflatoxin levels and exposure assessment of Spanish infant cereals

Abstract

Aflatoxins (AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 and AFG 2 ) are immunosuppressant, mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic agents with a widespread presence in foodstuffs. Since human exposure to aflatoxins occurs primarily by contaminated food intake, and given the greater susceptibility of infants to their adverse effects, the quantification of these mycotoxins in infant food based on cereals is of relevance. Aflatoxins levels were determined in ninetyone Spanish infant cereals classified in terms of non-and organically produced and several types from ten different manufactures, using a extraction procedure followed by inmunoaffinity column clean-up step and High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection (FLD) and post-column derivatization (Kobra Cell system). Daily aflatoxin intake was also assessed. The preliminary analysis revealed a noticeable detected infant cereal samples for total aflatoxin (81 %), corresponding to a 64 %, 39 %, 65 % and 43 % for According to the type of infant cereal, cereals with cocoa provided the highest aflatoxin levels, gluten-free and cereals with dehydrated fruits were in a intermediate level and milk-or honey-based cereals and multicereals contained the lowest levels. With the exception of non-compliant cocoa based organic formulation, none of the infant cereals analyzed provides a higher intake of 1 ng kg -1 body weight per day, suggesting that infants fed on infant cereals are exposed to low health hazard. Nevertheless, manufactures are called for continued efforts to routinely monitor and more careful selection of raw material to minimize aflatoxin levels in these infant foods.Keywords: aflatoxins; infant cereals; daily intake; food analysis; HPLC * Corresponding author. Email: inavarro@unav.es 1 Aflatoxins content and exposure assessment from Spanish infant cerealsAflatoxins (AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 and AFG 2 ) are immunosuppressant, mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic agents with a widespread presence in foodstuffs. Since human exposure to aflatoxins occurs primarily by contaminated food intake, and given the greater susceptibility of infants to their adverse effects, the quantification of these mycotoxins in infant food based on cereals is of relevance. Aflatoxins levels were determined in ninetyone Spanish infant cereals classified in terms of non-and organically produced and several types from ten different manufactures, using a extraction procedure followed by inmunoaffinity column clean-up step and High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection (FLD) and post-column derivatization (Kobra Cell system). Daily aflatoxin intake was also assessed. The preliminary analysis revealed a valuable incidence of detected infant cereal samples at an upper concentration level than the detection limit for total aflatoxin (66 %), corresponding to a 46 %, 40 %, 34 % and 11 % for AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 and AFG 2 . Lower aflatoxin values (median, Q1;Q3) in conventional infant cereal (n=74, AFB 1 : <LOD (n. ) versus two conventional cereals (0.35 and 0....

Occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in baby foods marketed in Iran

“…In addition, the high incidence of AFB 1 in infant cereals was also reported in previous studies . For example, Hernandez‐Martınez and Navarro‐Blasco determined the AF content in 91 Spanish infant cereals, including 17 organic and 74 conventional cereal‐based baby foods. In addition, AFB 1 was detected in 46% of the samples, and seven infant cereals exceeded the AFB 1 content set by Regulation (EC) 2004/683 .…”

“…AF analysis is commonly carried out by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), after immunoaffinity column clean‐up and fluorescence detection . However, because of weak natural fluorescence in AFB 1 and AFG 1 , pre‐ or post‐column derivatization must also be used …”

Estimated exposure to EU regulated mycotoxins and risk characterization of aflatoxin-induced hepatic toxicity through the consumption of the toasted cereal flour called “gofio”, a traditional food of the Canary Islands (Spain)

“…Regarding AFs, our results indicate that there is no difference in either frequency or concentration between gofio of organic and conventional production, as it has been described for other cereal based foods (Hernandez-Martinez and Navarro-Blasco, 2010;Vidal et al, 2013). For the rest of mycotoxins, we found any difference either in frequency, in concentration, or both (Table 2).…”

Dilution of rice with other gluten free grains to lower inorganic arsenic in foods for young children in response to European Union regulations provides impetus to setting stricter standards

“…For baby foods, the rice alternatives favoured by manufacturers are maize, oats, quinoa and potato, all gluten free, as preferred, particularly at weaning, in the infant market. Maize and oats can be problematic with respect to their mycotoxin content, and surveys of infant cereals show that relatively high percentages had mycotoxin concentrations exceeding those allowed by EU standards [ 17 – 20 ]. Rice is, generally, low in mycotoxins [ 21 ].…”