Natural Occurrence of Aflatoxins in Peanuts and Peanut Butter from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi that may contaminate food and pose a health risk, especially in developing countries, where there is a lack of food security and quality is subsumed by food insufficiency. Aflatoxins are the most toxic known mycotoxins and are a significant risk factor for liver and kidney cancer, teratogenicity, undernutrition, and micronutrient malabsorption in both humans and animals. The main aim of the study was to determine the extent of fungal and aflatoxin contamination in peanuts and peanut butter being sold in both the formal and informal markets in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Eighteen peanut samples and 11 peanut butter samples were purchased from retail shops and the informal market. Fungal contamination was determined using standard mycology culture methods, while aflatoxin contamination was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection. Four of the six peanut samples tested for fungal contamination were infected with Aspergillus flavus/parasiticus, ranging from 3 to 20% of the kernels examined, while 27% (3 of 11) of the peanut butter samples were infected with A. flavus/parasiticus. Ninety-one percent (10 of 11) of the peanut butter samples were contaminated with aflatoxins (mean, 75.66 ng/g, and range, 6.1 to 247 ng/g), and aflatoxin B1 was the most prevalent (mean, 51.0 ng/g, and range, 3.7 to 191 ng/g). Three of the 18 peanut samples were contaminated with aflatoxins (range, 6.6 to 622 ng/g). The commercial peanut butter samples had very high aflatoxin levels, and manufacturers should be sensitized to the detrimental effects of aflatoxins and measures to reduce contamination.

Aflatoxin B1 levels in groundnut products from local markets in Zambia

“…They reported that AFB 1 contamination was higher in samples from Kinshasa when compared to those from Pretoria, where 40% of samples from Kinshasa had AFB 1 concentrations >20 μg/kg compared to 10% from Pretoria. Also recently, Mupunga et al (2014) reported on aflatoxin contamination in groundnut kernels bought in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Of the 18 samples tested, only 3 had detectable levels of aflatoxin, ranging from 7 to 620 μg/kg.…”

Detoxification of Aflatoxin B1 in Red Pepper (Capsicum annuum L .) by Ozone Treatment and Its Effect on Microbiological and Sensory Quality

“…Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium species can produce mycotoxins in varying amounts depending on the ambient conditions. A large number of studies have been carried out determination of AFB 1 content in several countries such as the USA (Wood 1989 (Mupunga et al 2014). In these countries, AFB 1 levels in foodstuff were 0-30, >25, 10-100, 2-32, 8-59, >5, 3.5-80, 5-144.4, 0-623, 0.1-73.8 were far above the legal limits (Wood 1989;Shamsuddin et al 1995;Martins et al 2001;Reddy et al 2001;Sekiyama et al 2005;Aydın et al 2007;Basaran and Bektas 2010;Demircioglu and Filazi 2010;Roy et al 2013;Charoenpornsook and Kavisarasai 2014;Mupunga et al 2014).…”

Do Gastroenterologists Consider Aflatoxins as Origin of Digestive System Cancers?

“…), their derivative products (industrialized chili sauces [6], tortillas [7], beers [8], dry fruits [9], peanut butter [10], etc.) and aflatoxins of animal derivative foods (eggs [11], milk [12,13], human maternal milk [14], cheese [15,16], hens breast [17], liver [18], sausages [19], pâté [11], etc.).…”