Abstract
ABSTRACTIntroduction: Milk consumption in Kenya supersedes other countries in East Africa. However, milk contamination with aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is common, but the magnitude of this exposure and the health risks are poorly understood and need to be monitored routinely. This study aimed at assessing the awareness, knowledge and practices of urban and peri-urban farmers about aflatoxins and determining the levels of aflatoxin contamination in on-farm milk in a selected area within Nairobi County.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess aflatoxin contamination levels of milk in Kasarani sub-county. A total of 84 milk samples were collected from small-holder dairy farms and analyzed for AFM1 using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).Results and Discussion: Ninety nine percent of the samples (83/84) analysed were contaminated with AFM1. The mean aflatoxin level was 84 ng/kg with 64% of the samples exceeding the EU legal limit of 50 ng/kg. Whereas 80% of the farmers were aware of aflatoxin, there was no correlation between farmers’ knowledge and gender with AFM1 prevalence.Conclusion: This study concludes that AFM1 is a frequent contaminant in milk and there is need to enhance farmers awareness on mitigation.
Highlights
Milk consumption in Kenya supersedes other countries in East Africa
This study concludes that aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a frequent contaminant in milk and there is need to enhance farmers awareness on mitigation
This study reports on the occurrence of AFM1 in milk from urban and peri-urban smallholder dairy farms, as well as the knowledge of the farmers
Summary
Milk consumption in Kenya supersedes other countries in East Africa. milk contamination with aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is common, but the magnitude of this exposure and the health risks are poorly understood and need to be monitored routinely. This study aimed at assessing the awareness, knowledge and practices of urban and peri-urban farmers about aflatoxins and determining the levels of aflatoxin contamination in on-farm milk in a selected area within Nairobi County. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess aflatoxin contamination levels of milk in Kasarani sub-county. Aflatoxins (AF) are a group of mycotoxins produced as toxic secondary metabolites by fungus of Aspergillus species which is a grain storage organism. The optimal growth temperature is 25oC with a minimum of 0.75 water activity, but already at 10-12oC, the fungus starts to produce secondary metabolites [1]. Metabolic derivatives of AFB1 and AFB2 are AFM1 and AFM2 respectively, and these metabolites can be present in urine and milk of animals fed on AFB1 contaminated feeds [3]. Metabolic oxidation of AFB2 and AFG2 to AFB1 and AFG1, respectively, makes them biologically active [4]
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