Assessment of dietary exposure to aflatoxin B₁ from corn arepas in Colombia

The aim of this research was to evaluate dietary exposure to aflatoxin B1 (AFB₁) in corn arepas in Colombia. In addition, in this study an assessment considering compliance to the maximum level of AFB₁ (4 µg kg^-1) for this food was conducted. AFB₁ concentration data in corn arepas were obtained from 168 samples. The samples were collected from factories in 16 departments in Colombia. AFB₁ was quantified by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with a fluorescence detector. Consumption data and body weight (b.w.) were measured from the 2005 Colombian National Survey of Nutritional Status. Probabilistic estimates were made by Monte Carlo simulation of dietary exposure and margin of exposure (MOE) segmented by age group. The results showed that 27% of corn arepa samples were contaminated with AFB₁, with an average concentration of 15.1 µg kg^-1 and a maximum value of 111.1 µg kg^-1. The stochastic dietary exposure assessment showed that the age group most exposed was children between 4 and 8 years old (10.014 ng (kg b.w. day)^-1). In addition, the MOE values for all age groups were lower than 10,000, indicating a potential risk for consumers. However, in the scenario where AFB₁ concentration level complies with the maximum limit of 4 µg kg^-1 AFB₁, the level of concern could be reduced for the adult population between 14 and 64 years old because the MOE value is above 10,000.