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Determination of Aflatoxin Level in Stored Maize Flour and Risk of Exposure from Consumption of Aflatoxin Contaminated Meal in Boarding School

Received: 31 December 2023    Accepted: 15 January 2024    Published: 1 February 2024
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Abstract

Maize (Zea mays) is an important staple food crops for the majority of Africans population including Tanzanians. However, maize is mostly contaminated by mycotoxins which produced by fungal species like asperigillus. This study aimed to determine the aflatoxin contamination level in stored maize flour and assess the risk of consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated meal in boarding schools in Dar es Salaam and Coastal regions. A total of 33 samples of maize flour (dehulled and un-dehulled) were collected. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography connected to a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) was used to analyze the levels of aflatoxin contamination (AFB1 and total aflatoxin) in maize flour. In addition, cancer risk was assessed using models prescribed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Additives (JECFA). The result shows aflatoxin contamination (AFB1 and total aflatoxin) in maize flour samples collected from different boarding secondary schools ranged from (0 – 12.98 ppb) for total aflatoxin and (0 – 8.83 ppb) for AFB1. The estimated daily exposure to aflatoxins for girls and boys ranged from (0.11 – 0.26 ppb /kg/day) and (0.10 – 0.26 ppb /kg/day) respectively. For the cancer risk assessments, the result shows range from (0.01 – 0.02 per 100,000 population) for girl and (0 – 0.02 per 100,000 population) for boys. The result surveyed area is at lower risk of developing aflatoxin health related effects such as liver cancer.

Published in International Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/ijmb.20240901.12
Page(s) 7-14
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Maize Flour, Aflatoxins, Boarding School Meals, Cancer Risk, Daily Intake, Estimated Daily Exposure to Aflatoxin, Tanzania

References
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    Abdu, M. M., Rashid, S., Beatrice, K. (2024). Determination of Aflatoxin Level in Stored Maize Flour and Risk of Exposure from Consumption of Aflatoxin Contaminated Meal in Boarding School. International Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 9(1), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/ijmb.20240901.12

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    ACS Style

    Abdu, M. M.; Rashid, S.; Beatrice, K. Determination of Aflatoxin Level in Stored Maize Flour and Risk of Exposure from Consumption of Aflatoxin Contaminated Meal in Boarding School. Int. J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2024, 9(1), 7-14. doi: 10.11648/ijmb.20240901.12

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    AMA Style

    Abdu MM, Rashid S, Beatrice K. Determination of Aflatoxin Level in Stored Maize Flour and Risk of Exposure from Consumption of Aflatoxin Contaminated Meal in Boarding School. Int J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2024;9(1):7-14. doi: 10.11648/ijmb.20240901.12

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  • @article{10.11648/ijmb.20240901.12,
      author = {Mfinanga Mariam Abdu and Suleiman Rashid and Kilima Beatrice},
      title = {Determination of Aflatoxin Level in Stored Maize Flour and Risk of Exposure from Consumption of Aflatoxin Contaminated Meal in Boarding School},
      journal = {International Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {7-14},
      doi = {10.11648/ijmb.20240901.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/ijmb.20240901.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.ijmb.20240901.12},
      abstract = {Maize (Zea mays) is an important staple food crops for the majority of Africans population including Tanzanians. However, maize is mostly contaminated by mycotoxins which produced by fungal species like asperigillus. This study aimed to determine the aflatoxin contamination level in stored maize flour and assess the risk of consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated meal in boarding schools in Dar es Salaam and Coastal regions. A total of 33 samples of maize flour (dehulled and un-dehulled) were collected. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography connected to a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) was used to analyze the levels of aflatoxin contamination (AFB1 and total aflatoxin) in maize flour. In addition, cancer risk was assessed using models prescribed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Additives (JECFA). The result shows aflatoxin contamination (AFB1 and total aflatoxin) in maize flour samples collected from different boarding secondary schools ranged from (0 – 12.98 ppb) for total aflatoxin and (0 – 8.83 ppb) for AFB1. The estimated daily exposure to aflatoxins for girls and boys ranged from (0.11 – 0.26 ppb /kg/day) and (0.10 – 0.26 ppb /kg/day) respectively. For the cancer risk assessments, the result shows range from (0.01 – 0.02 per 100,000 population) for girl and (0 – 0.02 per 100,000 population) for boys. The result surveyed area is at lower risk of developing aflatoxin health related effects such as liver cancer.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Determination of Aflatoxin Level in Stored Maize Flour and Risk of Exposure from Consumption of Aflatoxin Contaminated Meal in Boarding School
    AU  - Mfinanga Mariam Abdu
    AU  - Suleiman Rashid
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    JO  - International Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-9686
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/ijmb.20240901.12
    AB  - Maize (Zea mays) is an important staple food crops for the majority of Africans population including Tanzanians. However, maize is mostly contaminated by mycotoxins which produced by fungal species like asperigillus. This study aimed to determine the aflatoxin contamination level in stored maize flour and assess the risk of consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated meal in boarding schools in Dar es Salaam and Coastal regions. A total of 33 samples of maize flour (dehulled and un-dehulled) were collected. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography connected to a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) was used to analyze the levels of aflatoxin contamination (AFB1 and total aflatoxin) in maize flour. In addition, cancer risk was assessed using models prescribed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Additives (JECFA). The result shows aflatoxin contamination (AFB1 and total aflatoxin) in maize flour samples collected from different boarding secondary schools ranged from (0 – 12.98 ppb) for total aflatoxin and (0 – 8.83 ppb) for AFB1. The estimated daily exposure to aflatoxins for girls and boys ranged from (0.11 – 0.26 ppb /kg/day) and (0.10 – 0.26 ppb /kg/day) respectively. For the cancer risk assessments, the result shows range from (0.01 – 0.02 per 100,000 population) for girl and (0 – 0.02 per 100,000 population) for boys. The result surveyed area is at lower risk of developing aflatoxin health related effects such as liver cancer.
    
    VL  - 9
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Author Information
  • Department of Food Science and Agro-Processing, School Engineering and Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • Tanzania Bureau of Standards, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

  • Tanzania Bureau of Standards, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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