Incidence of aflatoxin contamination in non-perishable food commodities

To assess the incidence of aflatoxins contamination in different commodities, a representative countrywide study was conducted. One hundred composed samples of cereals, grains, spices, condiments and refined and raw sugars were analysed for aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2. The moisture contents of all the food samples were also invariably determined. Only 6% of the samples namely maize and red chillies were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin B1 and B2 respectively. The percentage of samples contaminated among maize was 41.6 and the level of aflatoxin B1 ranged between 11.12 micrograms/Kg to 82.33 micrograms/Kg. In red chillies contamination was 25% and the level of aflatoxin B2 was 41.67 micrograms/Kg.