Management practices to mitigate aflatoxin contamination in groundnut: a review

Abstract

Groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) are produced and consumed globally due to their nutritious and hardy nature. However, they are vulnerable to Aspergillus spp. infection, which is active in the field or the store and produces aflatoxins. Aflatoxins are quite important as they impact food safety. Both humans and animals are at high risk of aflatoxin toxicity when exposed to aflatoxin contaminated food and feed, respectively. Aflatoxin is a major problem in the world particularly in sub-Saharan Africa because of climatic circumstances such as drought, floods, and extreme temperatures. Biological control, cultural practices, good agronomic practices, proper post-harvest handling, chemical control, and breeding of tolerant groundnut varieties are found to be effective for the prevention and management of aflatoxins. Therefore, there is a high need for increased awareness of mitigation practices for aflatoxins contamination to groundnut-producing farmers to ensure the production and availability of aflatoxins free groundnuts.