The Occurrence and Risk Assessment of Aflatoxin M₁ in Cheeses Samples from Hamadan, Iran

Aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) is a category of poisonous compounds found in milk and dairy products. The target of our research is to determine incidence and risk assessment AFM₁ through the consumption of cheese in Hamadan province of Iran. Seventy cheese samples including cream cheese (n = 30) and Iranian white cheese (n = 40) were collected from different regions of Hamadan province, Iran and tested for AFM₁ by ELISA technique. The estimated daily intake (EDI) and hazard index (HI) of AFM₁ was determined. AFM₁ was detected in 67 (95.7%) samples, including 39 (97.5%) Iranian white cheese (mean: 115.16 ng/kg; range: < 5-287 ng/kg) and 28 (93.3%) cream cheese samples (mean: 141.20 ng/kg; range: < 5-289 ng/kg). The level of AFM₁ in 10% samples was above the maximum tolerance limit (250 ng/kg). EDI of AFM₁ through cheese for a preschool child, an adult female, and an adult male was 0.138, 0.076, 0.065 ng/kg bw/day, respectively. In our study, HI for these groups was 0.690, 0.378 and 0.324, respectively. Although the incidence of AFM₁ in cheese samples was high, the results, regarding risk assessment which indicated potential risks for the liver cancer among Iranian consumers due to the cheese consumption, are not concerned.