OCCURRENCE OF AFLATOXINS IN PISTACHIO NUTS IN ESFAHAN PROVINCE OF IRAN

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aflatoxins (AFs) are highly toxic and carcinogenic secondary fungal metabolites and have been detected in various food commodities including pistachio nuts. One hundred samples of pistachio nuts, purchased from retail shops and local markets in Esfahan province of Iran from September to November 2007, were analyzed for AFs content by immunoaffinity column (IAC) cleanup with liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection. Results showed that the frequency of total AFs (AFT), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1 and aflatoxin G2 in pistachio samples were 95, 95, 42, 64 and 28%, respectively. Thirty‐six and 29% of pistachio nuts exceeded the maximum tolerable limit (5 and 15 µg/kg) set for AFB1 and AFT by European Union regulations, respectively. The present paper is the first report on the natural occurrence of AFs in available pistachio nuts from retail shops in Esfahan province of Iran. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe goal of the Health and Hygienic Ministry of Iran is to increase public health and so they schedule programs such as Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point to achieve this goal. Pistachio nut is one of the popular commodities that are consumed in high amounts during special periods (Norows holiday), and so, the exposure of this product increased. In this work, we determined the amount of aflatoxin contamination in Esfahan pistachio nuts samples that were gathered from retail shops and local markets by high‐performance liquid chromatography method. This work showed that keeping nuts under uncontrolled condition will lead to contamination. Our work showed the necessity of full consideration and permanent supervision of local markets. It is useful as a set‐up method for the determination of aflatoxin contamination in nuts and it can be used for other nuts and dried fruits sample.