Aflatoxins and cyclopiazonic acid in feed and milk from dairy farms in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The occurrence of aflatoxins (AF) B₁, B₂, G₁, G₂ and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) in feeds, and AFM₁ and CPA in milk was determined in dairy farms located in the northeastern region of São Paulo state, Brazil, between October 2005 and February 2006. AF and CPA determinations were performed by HPLC. AFB₁ was found in 42% of feed at levels of 1.0–26.4 µg kg⁻¹ (mean: 7.1 ± 7.2 µg kg⁻¹). The concentrations of AFM₁ in raw milk varied between 0.010 and 0.645 µg l⁻¹ (mean: 0.104 ± 0.138 µg l⁻¹). Only one sample was above the tolerance limit adopted in Brazil (0.50 µg l⁻¹) for AFM₁ in milk. Regarding CPA in feed, six (12%) samples showed concentrations of 12.5–153.3 µg kg⁻¹ (mean: 57.6 ± 48.7 µg kg⁻¹). CPA was detected in only three milk samples (6%) at levels of 6.4, 8.8 and 9.1 µg l⁻¹. Concentrations of aflatoxins and CPA in feed and milk were relatively low, although the high frequency of both mycotoxins indicates the necessity to continuously monitor dairy farms to prevent contamination of feed ingredients.

Keywords:

• aflatoxin M1
• cyclopiazonic acid
• occurrence
• feed
• milk

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil via grant no. 2005/50979-7, for financial support.