A study on Aflatoxin Content in Different Oilseeds available in Domestic Market in India

Abstract

The tropical berries called Piper nigrum is the source of White pepper. White pepper is the most preferred spices in export point of view in international market. White peppers are mainly used in vegetables, different types of sauces, casseroles etc. It contains sodium about 0.2 mg. It is used as a food preserver. It has the capacity to act as an alternative medicine to recover intestinal upsets, relieves nausea and may help to recover from fever. The monitoring of heavy metal contamination in spices is necessary for human health. The contamination of heavy metals such as Lead (Pb) and Copper (Cu) in White pepper (Whole and Ground) samples available in different parts of India were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The result showed that out of 36 samples of White pepper (Ground) analysed for Lead (Pb), 6 samples were observed to contain Lead ranged from 0.0018 to 0.14 ppm and 9 samples contained Copper (Cu) ranged from 0.005 to 0.302 ppm respectively. Out of 37 samples of white pepper (whole) analysed, only 5 samples have contaminated Lead (Pb) with low level ranging from 0.0037 ppm to 0.1739 ppm and 8 samples have Copper (Cu) content ranging from 0.018 ppm to 0.0916 ppm. As per FSSAI, the maximum permissible level for “foods not specified” category for Lead (Pb) is 2 ppm and for Copper (Cu) is 30 ppm. All the samples contained Lead and Copper within the acceptable limits and may not produce any health risk for human consumption