Assessment of Aflatoxin M1 and M2 exposure risk through Oaxaca cheese consumption in southeastern Mexico

The present study evaluated the exposure of Southeast Mexican population to Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and M2 (AFM2) through the consumption of Oaxaca cheese. The intake of Oaxaca cheese was assessed via a food 7-day dairy questionnaire (N = 1100, 2014 and 2015). Thirty Oaxaca cheeses were randomly sampled, and the origin of the samples was also investigated. AFM1 and AFM2 were quantified by HPLC-FD. The exposure was assessed through the combination of the Probabilistic Density Functions (probabilistic approach). The percentage of the population at risk was calculated through the population exceeding the toxicological reference values (TDI). The risk assessment revealed that the population at higher risk to AFM1 and AFM2 was the children, followed by the adolescents and adult women. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to assess the exposure risk of different age groups of a population to AFM1 and AFM2 through the consumption of cheese.