Are Aflatoxin Residues in Chicken Products a Real or Perceived Human Dietary Risk?

Area of Science:

• Food Safety
• Animal Toxicology
• Public Health

Background:

• Aflatoxins are toxic fungal metabolites posing risks to humans and animals.
• Poultry, particularly chickens, are susceptible to aflatoxin exposure through contaminated feed.
• Assessing aflatoxin residue in chicken tissues is crucial for food safety evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the level of aflatoxin residues in edible chicken tissues (muscle, eggs, liver, gizzard, heart).
• To evaluate the risk to human health from consuming chicken products from birds fed aflatoxin-contaminated feed.
• To analyze the correlation between feed contamination levels and aflatoxin residue in chicken tissues.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies published between 1984 and 2023.
• Analysis of data from ~8100 chickens across 334 trials with varying aflatoxin feed contamination levels (0.1-6400 µg/kg) and durations (7-180 days).
• Statistical analysis to determine correlations and residue percentages.

Main Results:

• A positive correlation exists between feed aflatoxin levels and tissue residues (r² = 0.18, p < 0.05).
• <1% of ingested aflatoxin transferred to edible broiler tissues.
• Only 0.6% of trials reported >20 µg/kg tissue aflatoxin, primarily in muscle, at feed levels >300 µg/kg.

Conclusions:

• Chickens possess a high aflatoxin elimination capacity, indicating a low public health risk from consuming contaminated poultry.
• Edible chicken tissues from birds fed up to 500 µg/kg aflatoxin are likely safe for human consumption.
• Chicken growth performance, not human health risks from residues, is likely the primary limiting factor for aflatoxin levels in feed.