Distribution of aflatoxins in some samples of peanuts

Naturally occurring G aflatoxins were found at approximately 20 times the level of B aflatoxins in one lot of roasted, blanched peanuts. Official methods, as well as high-pressure liquid chromatography, were used to confirm this finding. Additional routine sample analysis data of raw and roasted peanuts revealed that this finding is not so unusual formerly thought. It was found that 9.8% of the raw peanut samples contained higher levels of G than B aflatoxin; 4.9% containing 2-8 times more G than B aflatoxins. In a smaller sampling of roasted peanuts, 28% of the contaminated peanuts contained more G than B aflatoxins.