Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania

The staple crops, maize, sorghum, bambara nut, groundnut, and sunflower common in semi-arid agro-pastoral farming systems of central Tanzania are prone to aflatoxin contamination. Consumption of such crop produce, contaminated with high levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), affects growth and health. In th...

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Main Authors: Seetha, A., Munthali, W., Msere, H.W., Swai, E., Muzanila, Y., Sichone, E., Tsusaka, T.W., Rathore, A., Okori, Patrick
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89119
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author Seetha, A.
Munthali, W.
Msere, H.W.
Swai, E.
Muzanila, Y.
Sichone, E.
Tsusaka, T.W.
Rathore, A.
Okori, Patrick
author_browse Msere, H.W.
Munthali, W.
Muzanila, Y.
Okori, Patrick
Rathore, A.
Seetha, A.
Sichone, E.
Swai, E.
Tsusaka, T.W.
author_facet Seetha, A.
Munthali, W.
Msere, H.W.
Swai, E.
Muzanila, Y.
Sichone, E.
Tsusaka, T.W.
Rathore, A.
Okori, Patrick
author_sort Seetha, A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The staple crops, maize, sorghum, bambara nut, groundnut, and sunflower common in semi-arid agro-pastoral farming systems of central Tanzania are prone to aflatoxin contamination. Consumption of such crop produce, contaminated with high levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), affects growth and health. In this paper, aflatoxin contamination in freshly harvested and stored crop produce from central Tanzania was examined, including the efficacy of aflatoxin mitigation technologies on grain/kernal quality. A total of 312 farmers were recruited, trained on aflatoxin mitigation technologies, and allowed to deploy the technologies for 2 years. After 2 years, 188 of the 312 farmers were tracked to determine whether they had adopted and complied with the mitigation practices. Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin B1 contamination in freshly harvested and stored grains/kernels were assessed. A. flavusfrequency and aflatoxin production by fungi were assayed by examining culture characteristics and thin-layer chromatography respectively. AFB1 was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The average aflatoxin contamination in freshly harvested samples was 18.8 μg/kg, which is above the acceptable standard of 10 μg/kg. Contamination increased during storage to an average of 57.2 μg/kg, indicating a high exposure risk. Grains and oilseeds from maize, sorghum, and sunflower produced in aboveground reproductive structures had relatively low aflatoxin contamination compared to those produced in geocarpic structures of groundnut and bambara nut. Farmers who adopted recommended post-harvest management practices had considerably lower aflatoxin contamination in their stored kernels/grains. Furthermore, the effects of these factors were quantified by multivariate statistical analyses. Training and behavioral changes by farmers in their post-harvest practice minimize aflatoxin contamination and improve food safety. Moreover, if non-trained farmers receive mitigation training, aflatoxin concentration is predicted to decrease by 28.9 μg/kg on average.
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spelling CGSpace891192024-11-21T16:39:52Z Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania Seetha, A. Munthali, W. Msere, H.W. Swai, E. Muzanila, Y. Sichone, E. Tsusaka, T.W. Rathore, A. Okori, Patrick food safety aflatoxins health The staple crops, maize, sorghum, bambara nut, groundnut, and sunflower common in semi-arid agro-pastoral farming systems of central Tanzania are prone to aflatoxin contamination. Consumption of such crop produce, contaminated with high levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), affects growth and health. In this paper, aflatoxin contamination in freshly harvested and stored crop produce from central Tanzania was examined, including the efficacy of aflatoxin mitigation technologies on grain/kernal quality. A total of 312 farmers were recruited, trained on aflatoxin mitigation technologies, and allowed to deploy the technologies for 2 years. After 2 years, 188 of the 312 farmers were tracked to determine whether they had adopted and complied with the mitigation practices. Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin B1 contamination in freshly harvested and stored grains/kernels were assessed. A. flavusfrequency and aflatoxin production by fungi were assayed by examining culture characteristics and thin-layer chromatography respectively. AFB1 was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The average aflatoxin contamination in freshly harvested samples was 18.8 μg/kg, which is above the acceptable standard of 10 μg/kg. Contamination increased during storage to an average of 57.2 μg/kg, indicating a high exposure risk. Grains and oilseeds from maize, sorghum, and sunflower produced in aboveground reproductive structures had relatively low aflatoxin contamination compared to those produced in geocarpic structures of groundnut and bambara nut. Farmers who adopted recommended post-harvest management practices had considerably lower aflatoxin contamination in their stored kernels/grains. Furthermore, the effects of these factors were quantified by multivariate statistical analyses. Training and behavioral changes by farmers in their post-harvest practice minimize aflatoxin contamination and improve food safety. Moreover, if non-trained farmers receive mitigation training, aflatoxin concentration is predicted to decrease by 28.9 μg/kg on average. 2017-11 2017-10-30T08:54:47Z 2017-10-30T08:54:47Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89119 en Open Access Springer Seetha, A., Munthali, W., Msere, H.W., Swai, E., Muzanila, Y., Sichone, E., Tsusaka, T.W., Rathore, A. and Okori, P. 2017. Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania. Mycotoxin Research 33(4):323–331.
spellingShingle food safety
aflatoxins
health
Seetha, A.
Munthali, W.
Msere, H.W.
Swai, E.
Muzanila, Y.
Sichone, E.
Tsusaka, T.W.
Rathore, A.
Okori, Patrick
Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania
title Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania
title_full Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania
title_fullStr Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania
title_full_unstemmed Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania
title_short Occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central Tanzania
title_sort occurrence of aflatoxins and its management in diverse cropping systems of central tanzania
topic food safety
aflatoxins
health
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89119
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