Influence of bag materials on the moisture loss and final aflatoxin content of in-shell peanuts stored moist. First...

In the present work the influence of bag materials on the moisture loss and final aflatoxin content of stored moist in-shell peanuts (MIP) was studied in the rainy season of 1990, in Marília, São Paulo, and in the rainy season of 1991, in Jaboticabal, São Paulo. In each season, MIP were ventilated, as they arrived from the field, to get rid of extraneous materials and then put into 120 bags of jute and into 120 bags of polypropylene, and stored in stacks (12 bags base x 10 bags high). In the rainy season of 1990 (February-April) moisture and aflatoxin were determined at the beginning (average moisture = 14.31%; aflatoxin not detected). Subsequently, moisture was determined twice a week in samples taken from the external part of the stacks for 80 days, when the stacks were dismantled and moisture and aflatoxin were determined in six samples of each stack. In the rainy season of 1991 (February-March), because of operational difficulties, closed mesh jute bags were used (green coffee type) and the experiment lasted only 30 days. Moisture and aflatoxin were determined only at the beginning (average moisture = 15%; aflatoxin not detected). At the end of the storage period three samples were taken from each lot, for moisture and aflatoxin analyses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)