Frequency and levels of aflatoxin M1 in urine of children in Bogota, Colombia.

A study was conducted to investigate the frequency and levels of AFM1 and AFM2 in urine from children who attended the emergency service of a pediatric referral hospital in Bogota, Colombia. A survey on the consumption of foods likely to be a source of aflatoxins and on sociodemographic variables was conducted as well. The frequency of AFM1 in urine was found to be 41.7% with an average concentration in positive samples of 16 pg mL-1 ± 10.7 pg mL-1 (range > LOD-48.5 pg mL-1). The presence of AFM1 in the urine was related to the consumption of cereals likely to be contaminated with AFB1, especially corn and rice. No detectable levels of AFM2 were found in any sample. The results show that children's exposure to aflatoxins in Colombia is indeed a problem and should be one of the priorities of the health authorities. Continuous monitoring of aflatoxins in foods should be carried out, in compliance with Colombian regulations, using analytical methods that allow determination and quantification of aflatoxins in different biological and non-biological matrices at trace levels.

Assessment of Aflatoxin M1 and M2 exposure risk through Oaxaca cheese consumption in southeastern Mexico.

The present study evaluated the exposure of Southeast Mexican population to Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and M2 (AFM2) through the consumption of Oaxaca cheese. The intake of Oaxaca cheese was assessed via a food 7-day dairy questionnaire (N = 1100, 2014 and 2015). Thirty Oaxaca cheeses were randomly sampled, and the origin of the samples was also investigated. AFM1 and AFM2 were quantified by HPLC-FD. The exposure was assessed through the combination of the Probabilistic Density Functions (probabilistic approach). The percentage of the population at risk was calculated through the population exceeding the toxicological reference values (TDI). The risk assessment revealed that the population at higher risk to AFM1 and AFM2 was the children, followed by the adolescents and adult women. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to assess the exposure risk of different age groups of a population to AFM1 and AFM2 through the consumption of cheese.

Rapid determination of total aflatoxins and ochratoxins A in meat products by immuno-affinity fluorimetry.

Total aflatoxins (AFT) and ochratoxin A (OTA) levels were estimated using the VICAM AflaTest and OchraTest immunoaffinity fluorometric method in a total of 50 meat products (25 each of beef luncheon and beef burger) purchased from different supermarkets in Mansoura city, Egypt. All the meat samples analyzed were contaminated with both AFT and OTA with mean values of 1.1 µg/kg and 5.23 µg/kg, respectively, for beef luncheon and mean values of 3.22 µg/kg and 4.55 µg/kg, respectively, for beef burger. None of the beef luncheon and burger samples analyzed exceeded the permissible limits set by FDA for AFT, but 40% of beef burgers exceeded the FAO AFT permissible limit. Similarly, 52% and 36% of beef luncheon and beef burger samples exceeded the FAO OTA permissible limit. Application of the immunoaffinity fluorometric method is an accurate, safe and rapid method for mycotoxins determination in meat products to ensure their safety for human consumption.