Using disease-burden method to evaluate the strategies for reduction of aflatoxin exposure in peanuts

Aflatoxin is a fungal secondary metabolite with high toxicity that is capable of contaminating various types of food crops. It has been identified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Chronic aflatoxin exposure has caused worldwide concern as a matter of public food safety. Peanuts and peanut products are the major sources of aflatoxin exposure. Therefore, some reduction interventions have been developed to minimize contamination throughout the peanut production chain. The purpose of this study is to estimate the efficacy of interventions in reducing the health impact of hepatocellular carcinoma caused by aflatoxin contamination in peanuts. The estimated total Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were calculated using FDA-iRISK software. Six aflatoxin reduction strategies were evaluated, including good agricultural practice (GAP), biocontrol, Purdue Improved Crop Storage packaging, basic processing, ozonolysis, and ultraviolet irradiation. The results indicated that basic processing could prevent huge public health loss of 4,079.7-21,833 total DALYs per year. In addition, GAP and biocontrol were both found to be effective strategies in the farm field. Meanwhile, the other three interventions had limited effectiveness in reducing total DALYs. In conclusion, this study could help farmers, processing plants, and government policy makers to alleviate aflatoxin contamination issues in the peanut production chain.