Presence of Aflatoxin M1 in raw milk at cattle farms in Babol, Iran

Abstract

In this study, raw cow milk samples were collected from milk churns at 40 traditional and semiindustrial cattle farms located in Babol (Northern Iran) in winter 2006. In total, 120 raw milk samples were tested for Aflatoxin M 1 (AFM1) contamination by competitive ELISA. In 68 out of 120 samples (56.7%) the presence of AFM1 was detected by concentration ranging from 50 to 352.3 ng L-1. Fifty two samples (43.3%) contained AFM1 at levels of 4-50 ng L-1 (The AFM1 contamination levels were between 4-352.3 ng L-1 by the average of 102.73 ng L-1). In general, 56.7% of samples were beyond the limit of European community regulations (50 ng L-1). In other words, the AFM1 contamination levels in raw milk were more than twice over standard levels. The AFM1 contamination levels, (>50 ng L-1), in January, February and March were 40, 65 and 65%, respectively. Estimation of contamination of AFB1 using AFM 1 in feed stuff showed that it was about 0.25 to 22 μg kg -1 holding the average of 46.7%, being higher than European community limit (5 jug kg-1). © 2008 Asian Network for Scientific Information.