Fluorescence in pistachio nuts contaminated with aflatoxin

Abstract

Bright greenish-yellow fluorescence under long wave ultraviolet light was observed on the shells of 7% of the nuts in samples from 46 aflatoxin contaminated commercial lots of Iranian pistachio nuts. Kernels from the fluorescent nuts contained 50% of the aflatoxin in the samples. No aflatoxin was found in any of the shells. When kernels and shells were cultured, toxicogenic fungi grew from only 4% of the shells and 21% of the kernels from fluorescent nuts and from 9% of the shells and 15% of the kernels from nonfluorescent nuts.

Mycotoxins in food products available in Qatar

“…Various investigators have reported high levels of aflatoxins in pistachio and chilli powder. Dickens and Welty (1975) found aflatoxin B1 contamination in pistachio in the range of 6-97 lg/kg. Scholten and Spanjer (1996) analysed 29 samples of pistachio and found 17 (58%) samples contaminated by aflatoxin B1 at level ranging from 2 to 165 lg/kg.…”

Occurrence of aflatoxin in commodities imported into Qatar, 1997-2000

“…Dickens and Welty (1975) identi®ed a¯atoxin contamination in pistachios and found a¯atoxin B 1 in the range 6±97 mg kg 1 . Wood and Pohland (1991) reported 3.7, 5.3 and 0.9% of samples of pistachio contaminated by a¯atoxin at >20 mg kg 1 in 1987±89, respectively.…”

Comparison of Fluorescence Sorting and Color Sorting for the Removal of Aflatoxin from Large Groups of Peanuts

“…Bright green-yellow fluorescence has been successfully used to identify aflatoxin-contaminated com (6,8,19,24,46,47), cotton (3,35,36,37), and pistachio nuts (17,22,23). In these cases, the fluorescence, called BGY fluorescence in the literature, was not due to aflatoxin.…”