Abstract
This research was carried out to determine the level of aflatoxin present in common spices sold in Nima, Agbogbloshie and Tema Central markets in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Spices are used in everyday food preparation to enhance food properties and for medicinal and traditional purposes. The aflatoxin concentration was determined using the Neogen Reveal Q+test kit and the mobile assay. Aflatoxin was present in all the cloves, cumin, negro pepper and calabash nutmeg spice samples used for the study. 100% of the spices sampled in this study recorded concentrations above the EU acceptable aflatoxin concentration limit which is below 5ppb. Calabash nutmeg spice recorded the highest mean aflatoxin concentration (78.4ppb) while clove spice recorded the lowest mean aflatoxin concentration (11.2ppb). Tema Central market recorded the highest aflatoxin mean concentration (55.0ppb) followed by the Agbogbloshie market (27.6ppb) and Nima market (21.3ppb). The study identifies a major threat to food safety and calls for attention to good handling and storage of spices to reduce health hazards associated with aflatoxins in the Greater Accra Region.
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