Evaluation of cultivar susceptibility and storage periods towards aflatoxin B1 contamination on pistachio nuts
Aflatoxins (AFs) are potent sources of health risks to both humans and animals. Among them, AFB1 is the most hazardously toxic and the most frequent in various food commodities, including pistachio nuts. In this survey, the effect of the storage period on AFB1 accumulation on pistachio nuts was investigated. A total of 49 samples collected during the crop year of 2005 from the most cultivated pistachio cultivars in Tunisia were rapidly screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) combined with an immunoaffinity step. The obtained results showed that the contamination of pistachio nuts has occurred clearly after two years of storage for all the tested cultivars except the case of Mateur variety and Thyna ecotypes. In this study, the cultivar Mateur was found to be the most susceptible cultivar to contamination by AFB1. After 4 years of storage, the average contamination levels in nut samples ranged from 2.7 ± 0.3 to 12.7 ± 2.2 µg/kg for AFB1, according to the cultivar. These levels exceeded the maximum permitted limit of 2 µg/kg set by the European Commission in nuts.
Aflatoxin contamination in edible nuts imported in Qatar.
Abstract Edible nuts imported in Qatar from June 1997 to December 1998 were anlaysed for aflatoxins. Eighty-one nut samples were analysed in the second half of 1997 and contamination was detected in 19 samples with total aflatoxin level varied from a low of about 0.53 to a high of 289 μg/kg. Aflatoxin contamination was detected in pistachios and peanuts, while other nuts such as almond, cashew nut, walnut and hazel nut were found free from aflatoxins. During 1998 testing was carried out only for pistachios and about 101 samples were analysed; contamination was detected in 48 samples with total aflatoxin level in the range of 1.2–275 μg/kg. In pistachios without shell level of contamination was very high (total aflatoxin 8.3–275 μg/kg) compared to pistachio with shell (total aflatoxin 1.2–75 μg/kg). Aflatoxin B1 and B2 were detected in all the contaminated samples of pistachios, whereas aflatoxin G1 and G2 were detected only in three samples of pistachios at the level of 0.8–1.9 μg/kg for aflatoxin G1 and 0.4–1.3 μg/kg for aflatoxin G2.
Mycoflora and mycotoxins natural occurrence in corn from entre rios province, Argentina
Corn samples were collected in 1999 from three departments of Entre Réos province, Argentina, and were surveyed for mould contamination and natural occurrence ofFusarium mycotoxins, ochratoxin A and aflatoxins.Fusarium verticillioides was the most prevalent fungal species recorded at all departments. Zearalenone, deoxynivalenol and ochratoxin A were not found in any samples. Only one of the 52 corn samples analysed was contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (17 μg/kg). Fumonisin B1 was found in 58 % of samples (range of positive samples: 47– 3,347 μg/kg), fumonisin B2 in 33.0 % (range of positive samples: 23–537 μg/kg) and fumonisin B3 in 25.0 % (range of positive samples: 24–287 μg/kg) of them. This is the first report on the natural occurrence of mycotoxins in corn from Entre Ríos province, Argentina. Levels of fumonisins were lower than detected in other Argentinian provinces.