Determination of Aflatoxin Level in Stored Maize Flour and Risk of Exposure from Consumption of Aflatoxin Contaminated Meal in Boarding School

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays) is an important staple food crops for the majority of Africans population including Tanzanians. However, maize is mostly contaminated by mycotoxins which produced by fungal species like asperigillus. This study aimed to determine the aflatoxin contamination level in stored maize flour and assess the risk of consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated meal in boarding schools in Dar es Salaam and Coastal regions. A total of 33 samples of maize flour (dehulled and un-dehulled) were collected. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography connected to a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) was used to analyze the levels of aflatoxin contamination (AFB1 and total aflatoxin) in maize flour. In addition, cancer risk was assessed using models prescribed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Additives (JECFA). The result shows aflatoxin contamination (AFB1 and total aflatoxin) in maize flour samples collected from different boarding secondary schools ranged from (0 -12.98 ppb) for total aflatoxin and (0 -8.83 ppb) for AFB1. The estimated daily exposure to aflatoxins for girls and boys ranged from (0.11 -0.26 ppb /kg/day) and (0.10 -0.26 ppb /kg/day) respectively. For the cancer risk assessments, the result shows range from (0.01 -0.02 per 100,000 population) for girl and (0 -0.02 per 100,000 population) for boys. The result surveyed area is at lower risk of developing aflatoxin health related effects such as liver cancer.