Abstract
Aflatoxins are the highly toxic secondary metabolites of certain fungi, being mainly produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Aflatoxins are classified as group 1 category carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A large number of food commodities are reported to be contaminated with aflatoxins. Tea is the world’s second most consumed beverage and the consumption of tea is increasing day by day. Besides being a source of several health promoting substances, tea leaves are also reported to be contaminated with aflatoxins. However, not a single study is reported from Pakistan regarding the level of aflatoxins in commercially available black tea samples. The current study aimed to quantify the level of aflatoxins in commercially available branded and non-branded black tea samples. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of aflatoxins through branded and non-branded black tea consumption and the health risk assessment based on margin of exposure (MOE) approach was assessed. Furthermore, the impact of local tea making processes on the concentration of aflatoxins in tea beverage (filtrate) was also investigated.
Highlights
Tea, the world’s second most commonly consumed beverage after water is produced by the infusion of Camellia sinensis leaves that are native to Southeast Asia
As there is no set limit for the levels of aflatoxins in tea, the results of the study were compared with the maximum permissible limits (MPLs) of total aflatoxins (TAF) (10 μg/kg) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) (5 μg/kg) as set by European Union in spices (EU, 2006)
The current study is the first of its kind that provides information regarding the levels of aflatoxins in commercially branded and non-branded black tea samples available in the local markets of Pakistan
Summary
The world’s second most commonly consumed beverage after water is produced by the infusion of Camellia sinensis leaves that are native to Southeast Asia. The world’s total tea production is estimated to rise from 2.9 million tons in 1994 to 6.1 million tons in the year 2017. The annual consumption of tea is estimated to be around 273 billion liters and is forecasted to rise to 297 billion liters by the year 2021 (FAOSTAT, 2017; Statista, 2019). Black tea is the most commonly consumed tea worldwide and estimated to be around 78% of total tea produced (Soni et al, 2015). Despite being a source of several health-promoting components, tea samples are reported to be contaminated by a number of toxicants, the most critical among which are the mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins (Viswanath et al, 2012; Pouretedal and Mazaheri, 2013)
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