Aflatoxin in raw and salt-roasted nuts (pistachios, peanuts and walnuts) sold in markets of Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

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 μg/kg) was significantly higher than the pure ones (6.51 ± 9.4 μg/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. © 2014, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences; Published by Kowsar Corp.