Abstract
Importance of cow milk in human, especially in infant nutrition, is well known. Nevertheless, contamination of milk with aflatoxins is considered as a potential risk for human health. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin M<sub>1</sub> (AFM<sub>1</sub>), metabolite of aflatoxin B1 in raw cow milk in high milk producing areas in Sri Lanka. Aflatoxin M<sub>1</sub> levels were investigated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a fluorescence detector, monitoring at wave lengths 365 nm and 425 nm for excitation and emission, respectively. Eighty seven samples of raw milk were collected from randomly selected dairies in seven provinces in the country, and analyzed for AFM<sub>1</sub> using the Official Methods of Analysis of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) International. The percentage recovery of AFM<sub>1</sub> was 85.2 ± 4.03 with respect to an artificially contaminated concentration of 48.6 ng/L. AFM<sub>1</sub> was detected in 33% of locally manufactured raw milk samples in concentrations ranging from 13.1 ng/L to 84.5 ng/L with a mean level of 40.2 ng/L. Percentage of contaminated samples (9.2%) exceeded the European Communities/Codex Alimentarius recommended limit of 50 ng/L. None of the milk samples from Western, Uva & Sothern provinces were contaminated at a detectable level of AFM<sub>1</sub>. The results suggest a need to introduce safety measures for AFM<sub>1</sub> levels in liquid milk in local market under Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of Sri Lanka as well as to prescribe a limit of aflatoxin AFB<sub>1</sub> level in dairy cattle feedstuffs in order to minimize the health hazard risk in Sri Lanka. <br /><br />DOI: 10.4038/tar.v21i2.2593<br /><br /><em>Tropical Agricultural Research</em> Vol. 21(2): 119-125 (2009)
Highlights
The results suggest a need to introduce safety measures for aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) levels in liquid milk in local market under Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of Sri Lanka as well as to prescribe a limit of aflatoxin Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) level in dairy cattle feedstuffs in order to minimize the health hazard risk in Sri Lanka
Aflatoxins (AF) are a group of mycotoxins mainly produced by common fungi, namely Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius (JECFA, 2001)
Recovery percentage of AFM1 added to milk at a concentration of 48.6 ng L-1 was calculated to be 85.2%+4.03 by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Table 1)
Summary
Aflatoxins (AF) are a group of mycotoxins mainly produced by common fungi, namely Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius (JECFA, 2001). Many studies in the world reported the occurrence of AFM1 in dairy products and evidence of potential hazardous human exposure, as milk is a key source of nutrients for humans (Galvano et al, 1996). Seasonal trend in milk contamination was noted as there were occurrence of low levels of AFM1 during the spring and summer seasons During these periods, the animals tend to consume more forage, roughage and pasture that are widely available than concentrate feed (Galvano et al, 1996; Sarimehmetoglu et al, 2004). Many countries have introduced regulations to control the levels of AFB1 in feed and have proposed Maximum Permissible Levels (MPL) for AFM1 in milk to reduce the risk
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