Aflatoxin occurrence in milk and supplied concentrates of goat farms of north‐eastern Italy

Abstract

AbstractBACKGROUND: There is little information about the occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in goat milk. A survey involving 17 dairy goat farms of north‐eastern Italy was completed during 2005 and 2006, in order to evaluate the prevalence of milk contamination and its relationship with type and level of concentrate supplied.RESULTS: 132 concentrate and 85 milk samples were collected during five farm visits and analysed for aflatoxins. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was > 0.1 µg kg−1 in two‐thirds of the feeds and > 5 µg kg−1 in nine. Contamination was higher in maize than in other pure feeds (median: 0.8 versus 0.1 µg kg−1); complementary feeds showed intermediate values. Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) was > 3 ng kg−1 in one‐third of milks and > 25 ng kg−1 in three. All the milk samples were below EU statutory limits. The farm ranks for milk AFM1 level and the peak of concentrate AFB1 contamination were significantly correlated (0.642).CONCLUSIONS: Risk to human health was generally found to be absent, with only a few cases involving feed contamination to be monitored. The main aflatoxin risk for goat milk could arise from maize and maize‐based concentrates in the more intensive breeding conditions. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry