214
Views
54
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination of cassava products and maize grain from markets in Tanzania and republic of the Congo

, , , &
Pages 63-69 | Published online: 28 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Food safety and compliance with international standards is a major challenging to achieve food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study evaluated the occurrence of Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium spp., and related fungi, and resultant aflatoxins and fumonsins in dried cassava and maize samples from various markets and villages in Tanzania and Congo. The relationship between mycotoxins and length of storage period was also elucidated. The levels of aflatoxin B1 varied from 0.3 to 4.4 ppb in cassava chips and flour, and from 0.1 to 13.0 ppb in stored cassava samples, with relatively high levels of contamination found in cassava stored for 4 months. Maize kernels showed high aflatoxin concentrations, with means ranging from 0.04 to 120 ppb. On maize, the dominant mycoflora were Aspergillus spp. (3.3%–39.5%) and Fusarium spp. (42%–70.5%), potentially causing serious health risks to consumers of these products. Low levels of fumonisin ranging from 0 to 0.07 ppm were found in cassava chips and flour with mean values ranging from 0.001 to 0.006 ppm. Maize recorded relatively higher fumonisin levels ranging from 0.02 to 9.4 ppm, indicating that maize is potentially a more serious risk to consumer health than cassava. This needs to be taken into account when developing strategies to reduce toxin contamination and improve health of populations. Aflatoxin in maize is a chronic problem in the two countries surveyed, limiting marketability and income. Nevertheless the collected cassava samples are also prone to aflatoxin contamination, but not fumonisin contamination.

Acknowledgements

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 1,628.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.