Abstract
A food safety surveillance study was conducted on the kernels of Irvingia gabonensis sold in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The aim was to ascertain the biosafety of the staple soup thickener. The study was conducted for three years between the months of June and October 2016 and 2018. It screened for the presence of aflatoxin and the associated mycoflora, using standard laboratory methods. The result showed the presence of aflatoxin and the aflatoxigenic fungus; Aspergillus flavus in all the test location samples. The contents per kilograms are Abuja (FCT): 9.5 ± 0.00 µg/kg, 9.6 ± 0.0 µg/kg and 9.4 ± 0.23 µg/kg AFB1 µg/kg for 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively; others are Bauchi State (9.5 ± 0.12, 9.7 ± 9.31 and 9.3 ± 0.00 µg/kg), Benue state (20.36 ± 0.16, 20.35 ± 0.12 and 20.37 ± 0.06 µg/kg), Edo state (14.32 ± 0.65, 14.31 ± 0.06 and 14.33 ± 0.33 µg/kg), Imo state (13.58 ± 0.46, 13.56 ± 0.48 and 13.6 ± 20.33 µg/kg), Kebbi State (9.5 ± 0.23, 9.6 ± 0.34 and 9.4 ± 0.68 µg/kg), Lagos State (16.32 ± 0.36, 16.37 ± 0.33 and 16.25 ± 1.62 µg/kg), Plateau State (9.5 ± 0.32, 9.8 ± 0.00 and 9.3 ± 2.66 µg/kg), Rivers State (16.08 ± 0.64, 16.02 ± 0.44 and16.06 ± 20.33 µg/kg) and Sokoto State (9.5 ± 0.64, 9.3 ± 0.86 and 9.7 ± 2.37 µg/kg). The severity indices stood at, Abuja (FCT) (31.0, 31.5 and 30.6), Bauchi state (31, 32.0 and 30.1), Benue state (60.5, 60.6 and 60.6), Edo state 48.2, 48.2 and 48.3), Imo state 46.1, 46.1 and 46.0), Kebbi state (31.0, 31.5 and 30.6), Lagos state (53.1, 53.2 and 52.8), Plateau state (31.0, 32.4 and 30.1), Rivers state (52.6, 52.4 and 52.5) and Sokoto State (31.0, 29.6 and 32.0). Proper sanitary supervision, display of food items in glass showcase, screening same and placing safety label before releasing to the public is advocated. Key words: Aflatoxin, mycoflora, Aspergillus flavus, Irvingia gabonensis.
Highlights
Aflatoxin is a complex mycotoxin produced by the rot molds, especially, from the genus, Aspergillus
The aflatoxigenic strain of the fungi, A flavus and A parasiticus had been frequently isolated from postharvest ground nut seeds (Arachis hypogea L.), kernels of Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry – Lecomte ex O, Rorke) Baillon, seeds of Phaseolus lunatus Lin., Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp and grains of Zea mays Lin. (Adebayo-Tayo and Ettah, 2010)
The test samples from all the states examined showed that the mycoflora that populate the kernels were A. flavus, A. niger, P. italicum, F. moniliforme, L. theobromae and R. stolonifer (Tables 3 to 5)
Summary
Aflatoxin is a complex mycotoxin produced by the rot molds, especially, from the genus, Aspergillus. Four had been reported to be found in contaminated food products infested with A. flavus and A parasiticus (Duru et al, 2011). They are aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2. The aflatoxigenic strain of the fungi, A flavus and A parasiticus had been frequently isolated from postharvest ground nut seeds (Arachis hypogea L.), kernels of Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry – Lecomte ex O, Rorke) Baillon, seeds of Phaseolus lunatus Lin., Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp and grains of Zea mays Lin. (Adebayo-Tayo and Ettah, 2010)
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