Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in vacuum packed kashar cheeses in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) levels of vacuum packed Kashar cheese marketed in the Black Sea Region of Turkey were determined during October 2008 and June 2009. The occurrence of AFM1 contamination in vacuum packed cheese samples was investigated using immunoaffinity column extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography. AFM1 was detected in 144 (97.96%) of cheese samples ranging from 0.015 to 3.774 μg/kg cheese, and mean value of AFM1 was found to be 0.273 μg/kg cheese. AFM1 level in 16 (11.11%) of positive samples was higher than the maximum tolerance limit (0.5 μg/kg) accepted by Turkish Food Codex. © 2014 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.