Distribution of aflatoxin M1 during production of sheep and goat cheeses

Abstract

The occurrence of Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk results from ingestion of contaminated feed with Aflatoxin B1 by dairy animals, its conversion into AFM1 and secretion in milk. The objective of this work was to investigate AFM1 fate along goat and sheep cheese production. Cheese production was carried out using spiked milk (levels between 0.08 and 0.10 μg/L). Samples were collected throughout the production and analyzed by immunoaffinity clean-up and chromatography. Higher concentration of AFM1 were always observed in curd rather than in whey, with a mean enrichment factor of 1.8. A strong and positive correlation was established between casein content and AFM1 percentage in curd. Throughout production, a significant increase in AFM1 concentration on a wet basis was observed. In turn, on a dry basis, there was no statistically significant reduction during ripening. These observations are justified by the loss of cheese moisture and the absence of AFM1 degradation.