Abstract
A longitudinal one-year study was conducted to determine aflatoxin M1 levels in different types of milk marketed in Pakistan. Processed and raw liquid milk from 21 sources, two milk powder and six tea whitener brands were sampled on monthly basis from Islamabad. The aflatoxin M1 levels in liquid milk were lower (p < 0.05) in summer (April to July) compared with the levels in winter (January, November and December). The mean aflatoxin M1 levels were 254.9, 939.5, and 1535.0 ng/L in UHT, pasteurized, and raw milk, respectively (differing at p < 0.001). The mean toxin level in powdered milk after reconstitution was 522.1 ng/L. Overall, 12.9, 41.0, 91.9 and 50.0% of the UHT, pasteurized, raw and powdered milk samples, respectively, exceeded the Codex maximum tolerable limit of 500 ng of aflatoxin M1/L. It was estimated that consumers of raw and processed milk were exposed to 11.9 and 4.5 ng aflatoxin M1, respectively, per kg of body weight daily. The study indicates potential aflatoxin M1 exposure risks for the consumers of raw milk in the country. The levels of the toxin though comparatively lower in milk powder, requires attention as this type of milk is consumed by infants.
Highlights
Aflatoxins are the toxic secondary metabolites of various Aspergillus spp. that commonly contaminate food and feed ingredients
This seasonal variation in aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) levels is in accordance with previous findings in January, November and December
This seasonal variation in AFM1 levels is in accordance with which comparatively lower levels of AFM were found in raw milk sampled during summer months previous findings in which comparatively1 lower levels of AFM1 were found in raw milk sampled in the country [7,8]
Summary
Aflatoxins are the toxic secondary metabolites of various Aspergillus spp. that commonly contaminate food and feed ingredients. AFB1 is carried to milk in the form of the toxic metabolite aflatoxin M1 (AFM1 ) [1]. All of these toxins are known to exert potent hepatotoxic, immunotoxic and carcinogenic effects in animals and humans consuming the contaminated food. Iqbal et al [6] reported 64 ng/L mean AFM1 level in milk sampled in the year 2011 limit. AFM1areas contamination level reported various authors couldthe be 500 dueng to AFM different limit. To1the best of our knowledge, there milk is no previous longitudinal study longitudinal on AFM contamination in processed in Pakistan.
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