Aflatoxin M1 in pasteurized and UHT milk marked in Morocco

Mycotoxin contamination in the Arab world: Highlighting the main knowledge gaps and the current legislation

Since the discovery of aflatoxins in the 1960s, knowledge in the mycotoxin research field has increased dramatically. Hundreds of review articles have been published summarizing many different aspects, including mycotoxin contamination per country or region. However, mycotoxin contamination in the Arab world, which includes 22 countries in Africa and Asia, has not yet been specifically reviewed. To this end, the contamination of mycotoxins in the Arab world was reviewed not only to profile the pervasiveness of the problem in this region but also to identify the main knowledge gaps imperiling the safety of food and feed in the future. To the best of our knowledge, 306 (non-)indexed publications in English, Arabic, or French were published from 1977 to 2021, focusing on the natural occurrence of mycotoxins in matrices of 14 different categories. Characteristic factors (e.g., detected mycotoxins, concentrations, and detection methods) were extracted, processed, and visualized. The main results are summarized as follows: (i) research on mycotoxin contamination has increased over the years. However, the accumulated data on their occurrences are scarce to non-existent in some countries; (ii) the state-of-the-art technologies on mycotoxin detection are not broadly implemented neither are contemporary multi-mycotoxin detection strategies, thus showing a need for capacity-building initiatives; and (iii) mycotoxin profiles differ among food and feed categories, as well as between human biofluids. Furthermore, the present work highlights contemporary legislation in the Arab countries and provides future perspectives to mitigate mycotoxins, enhance food and feed safety, and protect the consumer public. Concluding, research initiatives to boost mycotoxin research among Arab countries are strongly recommended.

Review, meta-analysis and carcinogenic risk assessment of aflatoxin M1 in different types of milks in Iran

REVIEWS

Despite in recent decades, several studies on the concentration of aflatoxins M1(AFM1) in various milks have been studied, as we know, no systematic review, meta-analysis and carcinogenic risk assessment study was conducted in Iran till now.

OBJECTIVES

In this study, a systematic review was conducted to collect, meta-analysis and carcinogenic risk assessment of the quantitative data regarding the prevalence and concentration of AFM1 in several types of milk produced in Iran.

CONTENT

In our study, the concentration and prevalence of AFM1 in different types of milk (Raw, pasteurized, and UHT) from 113 original articles in Iran using searching the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar (in Persian and English) databases from 2002 to august 2021 were collected. The concentration of AFM1 was meta-analyzed using the random effect model (REM) based on type of milk (raw, pasteurized and UHT) subgroups and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) approach was used to assess safety risks and investigate carcinogenic effects of AFM1 using Crystal-Ball software (Version 11.1.3, Oracle, Inc., USA).

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

The 113 original article (In English and Persian) were included in this review. Meta-analysis indicated lower and upper of AFM1 in subgroups of raw, pasteurized and UHT milk in Iran was 9, 720, 2.7, 230.2, 19.23, and 221.6 ng/kg respectively. The Point estimate for carcinogenic risk of AFM1 showed as result of age increasing, the carcinogenic risk of Aflatoxin M 1 decreases and concentration of Aflatoxin M1 (ng/liter), plays the most effective role in carcinogenic risk of AFM1.

CONCLUSION

The presence of AFM1 in milk and its products due to its high toxicity and carcinogenic properties is a public health concern that the results show that the risk of carcinogenesis is higher at younger ages (less than 20 years). As a result, there is a strong association between consumption of raw milk, pasteurized milk and UHT and the risk of cancer in children and adults in Iran.

The Occurrence and Health Risk Assessment of Aflatoxin M1 in Raw Cow Milk Collected from Tunisia during a Hot Lactating Season

Milk is a staple food that is essential for human nutrition because of its high nutrient content and health benefits. However, it is susceptible to being contaminated by Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), which is a toxic metabolite of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) presented in cow feeds. This research investigated AFM1 in Tunisian raw cow milk samples. A total of 122 samples were collected at random from two different regions in 2022 (Beja and Mahdia). AFM1 was extracted from milk using the QuEChERS method, and contamination amounts were determined using liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with fluorescence detection (FD). Good recoveries were shown with intra-day and inter-day precisions of 97 and 103%, respectively, and detection and quantification levels of 0.003 and 0.01 µg/L, respectively. AFM1 was found in 97.54% of the samples, with amounts varying from values below the LOQ to 197.37 µg/L. Lower AFM1 was observed in Mahdia (mean: 39.37 µg/L), respectively. In positive samples, all AFM1 concentrations exceeded the EU maximum permitted level (0.050 µg/L) for AFM1 in milk. In Tunisia, a maximum permitted level for AFM1 in milk and milk products has not been established. The risk assessment of AFM1 was also determined. Briefly, the estimated intake amount of AFM1 by Tunisian adults through raw cow milk consumption was 0.032 µg/kg body weight/day. The Margin of Exposure (MOE) values obtained were lower than 10,000. According to the findings, controls as well as the establishment of regulations for AFM1 in milk are required in Tunisia.

Mycotoxins occurrence in milk and cereals in North African countries - a review

North African countries; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia suffer from mycotoxin contamination. Various studies have indicated the presence of mycotoxins in raw milk and cereals (i.e. wheat, barley, maize and cereal-based products). Aflatoxins (AFs), Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), Ochratoxin A (OTA), Fumonisin (FB1) and Zearalenone (ZEN)-mycotoxin are the most detected due to climatic change in the region. In this review, we will present the kind of foods and feeds cereals and milk based products contaminated and the level of their contaminated mycotoxin. On the other hand, researchers try to find biologic methods to remove/mitigate mycotoxins in food and feed using bio-products. But the research works concerning legislations and mycotoxin risk assessment still rare. Therefore, it appears necessary to make review on the current status of mycotoxins in North African countries in order to explore data related to contamination of basic food in this region and to highlight the problem to the policy-makers to establish a serious legislation on this matter. On the other hand, to give more information to the worldwide readers about the impact of climate change on the food and feed pollution on mycotoxins in the Mediterranean Sea region.