Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in Eastern and Northern Uganda
AbstractGroundnut and maize are among the economically important crops grown widely in Uganda for household food and income security. However, those crops and their products are vulnerable to aflatoxigenic fungi and aflatoxin contamination. The present study sought to establish the levels of aflatox...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Food & Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2221015 |
| _version_ | 1827620597713076224 |
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| author | Jolly Oder Akullo Robert Amayo David Kalule Okello Abdi Mohammed Robert Muyinda David Magumba Robert Gidoi Alice Mutiti Mweetwa |
| author_facet | Jolly Oder Akullo Robert Amayo David Kalule Okello Abdi Mohammed Robert Muyinda David Magumba Robert Gidoi Alice Mutiti Mweetwa |
| author_sort | Jolly Oder Akullo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AbstractGroundnut and maize are among the economically important crops grown widely in Uganda for household food and income security. However, those crops and their products are vulnerable to aflatoxigenic fungi and aflatoxin contamination. The present study sought to establish the levels of aflatoxin in the different products of groundnut and maize in local markets and roadside retail shops. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in ten districts in the eastern and northern regions of Uganda. Groundnut products: paste, unshelled, shelled/grain, and flour/powder were collected; and maize products: cobs (covered and uncovered), grain, flour, bran, mixed feed, flour reject, and roasted/boiled maize were also collected. A total of 241 samples (133 groundnut and 108 maize samples) were collected from the community and analysed for aflatoxin contamination using ELISA test. Regardless of the source, 41.8% of groundnuts had aflatoxin levels higher than 20 parts per billion (ppb), with groundnut paste (196.52 ± 437.24 ppb) and flour (187.90 ± 289.95 ppb) being the most contaminated. Aflatoxin levels in 62.8% of maize products were higher than 20 ppb, with maize cobs having the highest levels (126.4 ppb). Groundnut and maize products from the eastern region were the most contaminated. These results indicate that most of the maize and groundnut products in the markets away from major urban centres are also highly contaminated and unsafe for food and feed. This calls for immediate action to develop mitigation measures to curb the impact of aflatoxin contamination on the health and income of households, particularly through sensitization and training on appropriate pre-and post-harvest handling practices of the products. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:49:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-208ecc5f7436449a840d072652fa81ac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2331-1932 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:49:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Food & Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-208ecc5f7436449a840d072652fa81ac2023-12-01T08:31:55ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Food & Agriculture2331-19322023-12-019110.1080/23311932.2023.2221015Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in Eastern and Northern UgandaJolly Oder Akullo0Robert Amayo1David Kalule Okello2Abdi Mohammed3Robert Muyinda4David Magumba5Robert Gidoi6Alice Mutiti Mweetwa7Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Busitema University, Soroti, UgandaFaculty of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Busitema University, Soroti, UgandaNational Agricultural Research Organization, National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSarri), Soroti, UgandaSchool of Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, Haramaya, EthiopiaFaculty of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Busitema University, Soroti, UgandaFaculty of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Busitema University, Soroti, UgandaNational Agricultural Research Organization, Buginyanya Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Mbale, UgandaSchool of Agricultural Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, ZambiaAbstractGroundnut and maize are among the economically important crops grown widely in Uganda for household food and income security. However, those crops and their products are vulnerable to aflatoxigenic fungi and aflatoxin contamination. The present study sought to establish the levels of aflatoxin in the different products of groundnut and maize in local markets and roadside retail shops. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in ten districts in the eastern and northern regions of Uganda. Groundnut products: paste, unshelled, shelled/grain, and flour/powder were collected; and maize products: cobs (covered and uncovered), grain, flour, bran, mixed feed, flour reject, and roasted/boiled maize were also collected. A total of 241 samples (133 groundnut and 108 maize samples) were collected from the community and analysed for aflatoxin contamination using ELISA test. Regardless of the source, 41.8% of groundnuts had aflatoxin levels higher than 20 parts per billion (ppb), with groundnut paste (196.52 ± 437.24 ppb) and flour (187.90 ± 289.95 ppb) being the most contaminated. Aflatoxin levels in 62.8% of maize products were higher than 20 ppb, with maize cobs having the highest levels (126.4 ppb). Groundnut and maize products from the eastern region were the most contaminated. These results indicate that most of the maize and groundnut products in the markets away from major urban centres are also highly contaminated and unsafe for food and feed. This calls for immediate action to develop mitigation measures to curb the impact of aflatoxin contamination on the health and income of households, particularly through sensitization and training on appropriate pre-and post-harvest handling practices of the products.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2221015Aflatoxigenic fungifood safetymarketgroundnut pastemaize cobs |
| spellingShingle | Jolly Oder Akullo Robert Amayo David Kalule Okello Abdi Mohammed Robert Muyinda David Magumba Robert Gidoi Alice Mutiti Mweetwa Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in Eastern and Northern Uganda Cogent Food & Agriculture Aflatoxigenic fungi food safety market groundnut paste maize cobs |
| title | Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in Eastern and Northern Uganda |
| title_full | Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in Eastern and Northern Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in Eastern and Northern Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in Eastern and Northern Uganda |
| title_short | Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in Eastern and Northern Uganda |
| title_sort | aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize food products in eastern and northern uganda |
| topic | Aflatoxigenic fungi food safety market groundnut paste maize cobs |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2221015 |
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