Mali relies heavily on agriculture and requires an annual growth rate of 6% or more in this sector to achieve sustainable development overall. However, the contamination of essential cereals and legumes—key to reducing food insecurity in Africa—exacerbated by the proliferation of toxigenic fungi, represents a major constraint to the availability of safe food. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of cereal and legume vendors regarding mycotoxins and toxigenic molds in Mali. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2024, involving 240 cereal and legume vendors across key production areas. Data were collected using questionnaires administered to the vendors. Among the respondents, 42.5% were aged between 36 and 45 years, with a minimum age of 15 and a maximum age of 75. Males made up the majority, accounting for 87.92%. Most vendors had a primary education level (24.16%), while 3.33% had higher education. Knowledge of fungi and mycotoxins was reported by 65% and 49% of respondents, respectively. Storage facilities were available for 96% of respondents, with 90% storing products for more than three months. Additionally, 52% of respondents dried their harvests directly in the field. Comprehensive, multisectoral approaches are needed to address the complex issues of fungi and mycotoxins, improve health outcomes, and enhance the incomes and livelihoods of farmers, farming households, and Malian consumers.
| Published in | International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11 |
| Page(s) | 142-149 |
| 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), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Fungi, Mycotoxins, Toxigenic, Cereals, Legumes
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APA Style
Konate, S., Diarra, O., Dembele, C., Samake, S., Traore, A., et al. (2025). Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Grain and Legume Vendors Regarding Mycotoxins and Toxigenic Molds in Mali. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 14(3), 142-149. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11
ACS Style
Konate, S.; Diarra, O.; Dembele, C.; Samake, S.; Traore, A., et al. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Grain and Legume Vendors Regarding Mycotoxins and Toxigenic Molds in Mali. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2025, 14(3), 142-149. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11,
author = {Sounkalo Konate and Ousmane Diarra and Christiane Dembele and Salimatou Samake and Atia Traore and Sognan Dao and Fassé Samake and Fatoumata Faradji and Amadou Hamadoun Babana and Mamadou Wele},
title = {Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Grain and Legume Vendors Regarding Mycotoxins and Toxigenic Molds in Mali
},
journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
volume = {14},
number = {3},
pages = {142-149},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20251403.11},
abstract = {Mali relies heavily on agriculture and requires an annual growth rate of 6% or more in this sector to achieve sustainable development overall. However, the contamination of essential cereals and legumes—key to reducing food insecurity in Africa—exacerbated by the proliferation of toxigenic fungi, represents a major constraint to the availability of safe food. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of cereal and legume vendors regarding mycotoxins and toxigenic molds in Mali. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2024, involving 240 cereal and legume vendors across key production areas. Data were collected using questionnaires administered to the vendors. Among the respondents, 42.5% were aged between 36 and 45 years, with a minimum age of 15 and a maximum age of 75. Males made up the majority, accounting for 87.92%. Most vendors had a primary education level (24.16%), while 3.33% had higher education. Knowledge of fungi and mycotoxins was reported by 65% and 49% of respondents, respectively. Storage facilities were available for 96% of respondents, with 90% storing products for more than three months. Additionally, 52% of respondents dried their harvests directly in the field. Comprehensive, multisectoral approaches are needed to address the complex issues of fungi and mycotoxins, improve health outcomes, and enhance the incomes and livelihoods of farmers, farming households, and Malian consumers.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Grain and Legume Vendors Regarding Mycotoxins and Toxigenic Molds in Mali AU - Sounkalo Konate AU - Ousmane Diarra AU - Christiane Dembele AU - Salimatou Samake AU - Atia Traore AU - Sognan Dao AU - Fassé Samake AU - Fatoumata Faradji AU - Amadou Hamadoun Babana AU - Mamadou Wele Y1 - 2025/05/09 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11 T2 - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences JF - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences JO - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences SP - 142 EP - 149 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2327-2716 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20251403.11 AB - Mali relies heavily on agriculture and requires an annual growth rate of 6% or more in this sector to achieve sustainable development overall. However, the contamination of essential cereals and legumes—key to reducing food insecurity in Africa—exacerbated by the proliferation of toxigenic fungi, represents a major constraint to the availability of safe food. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of cereal and legume vendors regarding mycotoxins and toxigenic molds in Mali. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2024, involving 240 cereal and legume vendors across key production areas. Data were collected using questionnaires administered to the vendors. Among the respondents, 42.5% were aged between 36 and 45 years, with a minimum age of 15 and a maximum age of 75. Males made up the majority, accounting for 87.92%. Most vendors had a primary education level (24.16%), while 3.33% had higher education. Knowledge of fungi and mycotoxins was reported by 65% and 49% of respondents, respectively. Storage facilities were available for 96% of respondents, with 90% storing products for more than three months. Additionally, 52% of respondents dried their harvests directly in the field. Comprehensive, multisectoral approaches are needed to address the complex issues of fungi and mycotoxins, improve health outcomes, and enhance the incomes and livelihoods of farmers, farming households, and Malian consumers. VL - 14 IS - 3 ER -
Institute of Applied Sciences, Kabala University City Phase II, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali;Laboratory of Research in Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
Institute of Applied Sciences, Kabala University City Phase II, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali;Laboratory of Research in Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
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