Quality control and mycotoxin levels in food in the Palestinian market

ABSTRACT

A total of 51 food samples (18 rice, 17 wheat flour, and 16 nuts) were randomly collected from different shops and analysed for the presence of total aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and fumonisins, using a lateral flow competitive immunochromatographic assay method. Mycological contamination (total aerobic and fungi count), colour index (L*a*b*) and moisture content were also evaluated. Sensory characteristics for mycotoxins contaminated and uncontaminated samples of rice and wheat flour were evaluated by 40 panellists. Forty-five per cent of all samples were positive for aflatoxins as the most occurred mycotoxins, with a range of 2–8.1 μg/kg. Fungal counts were not significantly different between contaminated and uncontaminated rice and wheat flour samples. In addition, panellists were able to discriminate between contaminated and uncontaminated rice samples by detection of mouldy flavour, spoilage symptoms, earthy flavour, and the degree of freshness.

KEYWORDS:

• Mycotoxins
• sensory analysis
• aflatoxins analysis
• fungal count

Acknowledgments

This project was funded by Deanship of Scientific Research at An-Najah National University (project number ANNU-2021-SC0019).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the An-Najah National University [ANNU-2021-SC0019].