Occurrence of aflatoxins, fumonisin B1, and zearalenone in foods and feeds in Botswana

Abstract

Sorghum and maize form the main dietary staple foods in Botswana. Other products such as peanuts, peanut butter, phane (an edible larval stage of an emperor moth Imbrasia belina Westwood), and pulses (cowpeas and beans) are also widely used as food and for the manufacture of feeds. These important food and feed commodities were analyzed for the presence of aflatoxins, fumonisin B1, and zearalenone. Aflatoxins were detected in 40% of the samples analyzed. The concentration of total aflatoxins ranged from 0.1 to 64 μg/kg. The mean concentration ranged from 0.3 μg/kg in sorghum to 23 μg/kg in peanut butter. Peanut butter samples were the most contaminated (71%). No aflatoxins were detected in maize Fumonisin B1 was detected in 36% of the samples. Maize samples were the most contaminated (85% of the samples) with the concentration ranging from 20 to 1,270 μg/kg. No fumonisin B 1 was detected in peanuts, phane, and beans. Zearalenone was only found in 2.6% of the samples analyzed at 40 μg/kg. Aflatoxins were the most common toxins detected in foods and feeds in Botswana. However, fumonisin B 1 was more prevalent in maize than aflatoxins or zearalenone.