Aflatoxin in Raw and Salt-Roasted Nuts (Pistachios, Peanuts and Walnuts) Sold in Markets of Tabriz, Iran

作者：Ostadrahimi Alireza; Ashrafnejad Fereshteh; Kazemi Abdolhassan^*; Sargheini Nafiseh; Mahdavi Reza; Farshchian Mohammadreza; Mahluji Sepideh

来源：Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology, 2014, 7(1): e8674.

DOI：10.5812/jjm.8674

• Aflatoxin
• Nuts
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

Background: Nuts are one of the main consumed snacks worldwide and also have an important role among Iranian's food habits. Natural contamination of nuts with aflatoxin is unavoidable and causes a special challenge for nuts safety and quality.
Objectives: The purpose of this research was to study the aflatoxin contamination in commercially-available nuts (pistachio, walnut and peanut) in the markets of Tabriz, Iran.
Materials and Methods: Sixty two samples of 50 g salt-roasted peanuts and pistachios and 109 samples of 50 g pure pistachios, walnuts and peanuts were collected from different areas of local markets. After the initial preparations, ELISA test was performed for Aflatoxin measurement.
Results: Result showed that walnut (90%) and pure pistachio (2.3%) were the most and least contaminated samples, respectively. Mean aflatoxin contamination in the salt-roasted samples (19.88 +/- 19.41 mu g/kg) was significantly higher than the pure ones (6.51 +/- 9.4 mu g/kg) (P < 0.001). Respectively, 58.6%, 48.4% and 47.6% of salt-roasted pistachios, salt-roasted peanuts and walnut samples had aflatoxin contamination, which were more than the maximum tolerated level of Iran (MTL, 15 ppb).
Conclusions: It was concluded that aflatoxin content of nuts should be monitored regularly to minimize the risk of aflatoxin hazard and ensure the food safety and quality.

• 出版日期2014