Occurrence of aflatoxins in ground red chili pepper and pistachio nut

Abstract

In total, 240 samples were randomly collected from different locations in Gaziantep Turkey, 120 of which were unpacked and packed ground red chili pepper and 120 of which were unpacked and packed pistachio nuts. All samples of the unpacked and packed ground red chili pepper were found to be contaminated with aflatoxins and aflatoxin B1. Three (9.4%) of the packed ground red chili pepper samples were over the legal limit of aflatoxin B1 while 55 (62.5%) of the unpacked samples were over the legal limit. Thirty four (36.2%) of the unpacked pistachio nut samples were contaminated with aflatoxins. There is a need to strictly prohibit the use of batches of ground red chili pepper and pistachio nuts containing aflatoxins. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.