Department of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences

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Browsing Department of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences by Subject "Aflatoxin"

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    Aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination of maize and beans along the food and feed value chain in Babati district, Tanzania
    (Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2014) Nyangi, Chacha Joseph
    The natural occurrence of aflatoxins and fumonisins in maize and beans at harvest, during storage and along the value chain, including processed, feed and marketed products in three villages of Long, Sabilo and Seloto in Babati District, Manyara region, Tanzania, was investigated in the year 2013/14. The villages were chosen as they represents three different climatic zone. Total aflatoxins and fumonisins contamination in 440 at harvest maize samples had levels up to 26.2 μg/kg and 46.2 mg/kg, respectively. Aflatoxins contamination in 38 common beans samples had levels up to 3 μg/kg. The aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination in all beans samples were within the maximum tolerable limit (MTL) of 10 μg/kg and 2 mg/kg respectively, by East African Commission standards (EAC, 2011b). Parameter estimates from the generalised linear model (GENMOD) indicated that medium altitude low rain zone that lies between 1500 and 1850 metre above sea level (m.a.s.l) and representing Sabilo village (0.26) was the major factor pre-disposing maize to aflatoxin contamination, while early planting (-0.22), hand hoe tillage (−0.59) and ox tillage (-0.55) were the major factor reducing the aflatoxin contamination. High altitude high rainzone (Long village) that lies between 2150 and 2450 m.a.s.l was the most important factor reducing fumonisin contamination in maize with a parameter estimate of -2.93. Total aflatoxin and fumonisin levels were also determined in 574 maize and 106 bean samples stored by 60 farmers over a period of 180 days from august, 2013 to March, 2014. Maize samples from Seloto village were more contaminated (mean value of 3.24μg/kg) than those from Sabilo village (mean value of 3.12 μg/kg). Factors associated with higher aflatoxin contamination were storage for 0 to 80 days and storage with other crops, while for fumonisin most influential factor was storage of maize in granaries comparing to polypropylene and improved bags. The storage technique or facility that had a higher risk of aflatoxin development was polypropylene bags without any insecticides treatment (control) with a mean contamination value of 3.57 μg/kg and polypropylene bags with insecticides and pesticides treatment (normally used by most of farmers) with a mean value of 3.30 μg/kg. Lower aflatoxin levels were related to the use of traditional storage insecticides, sorting, and storage in improved bags. Among the maize and beans samples collected from the market (vendors) and from processors (small-scale mills) were whole maize grains, maize flour, feed (maize bran and bad-sorted maize not fit for human consumption but normally fed to animals) produced locally from the three villages. Maize bran had highest levels of aflatoxin with a mean value of 2.38 μg/kg and bad sorted portion with fumonisins mean value of 7.42 mg/kg, followed by whole maize with a mean aflatoxin value of 1.73 μg/kg and maize bran with a fumonisin mean value 1.02 mg/kg, while, dehulled maize was least contaminated with fumonisin. During milling mycotoxin become concentrated in bran that most commonly become animal feed. This would reduce the mycotoxins levels in the fraction that is normally used for food (maize flour and dehulled maize). All animal feed grade grain materials had levels lower than MTL of 20 μg/kg for total aflatoxin and a range of 5 to 100 mg/kg for total fumonisin (FAO, 2004; FDA, 2001). The observations made in this study call for use of best practices along the commodity value chain that can reduce contamination in order to improve food and feed safety.
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    Aflatoxin in peanut butter and compliance with the national food laws among SMEs in Dar es Salaam region
    (Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2019) Kiwia, Lulu
    The aim of this study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin in peanut butter and compliance with the national food laws among SMEs peanut butter manufacturers in Dar es Salaam region. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess awareness on aflatoxin contamination in peanut butter, and observation checklist was used to assess compliance practices with national food laws among SMEs peanut butter manufacturers. Samples of peanut butter were collected randomly from 30 peanut butter SMEs selected from the list provided by Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO). Samples were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The total amount of aflatoxins detected in peanut butter samples ranged from 0.075 to 317 μg/kg of which 33.3% of the samples for AFB1 (5.1 to 277.7 μg/kg) and 26.6% of the samples for total aflatoxin (15.5 to 317 μg/kg) exceeded the TBS regulatory limit 5 μg/kg and 15 μg/kg respectively as established by TZS 844:2014. The results revealed that all peanut butter SMEs had knowledge on susceptibility of peanut and peanut butter to aflatoxin while only 3.3% of peanut butter SME was not aware on favorable conditions for aflatoxin in peanuts. These peanut butter SMEs did not register 80% of the premises and 83.3% of the products, and most 90% of the products did not have TBS marks. Also 56.7% of peanut butter SMEs did not have business license. The high level of aflatoxin found in peanut butter poses significant threats to the health of consumers. Therefore, food regulatory authorities should encourage SMEs peanut butter manufacturers to use clean raw material and practice required Quality Assurance (QA), and should monitor the levels of aflatoxin in peanut butter and ensure all SMEs peanut butter manufacturers are registered and comply with the national food laws.
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    Dietary exposure to aflatoxin and fumonisin among children below three years in Iringa, Kilimanjaro and Tabora regions, Tanzania
    (Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2016) Shirima, C. P.
    Aflatoxins and fumonisins are toxic food contaminants. Knowledge about status of human exposure to, and health effects of these toxins in Tanzania is inadequate. This study was conducted to assess the magnitude of dietary exposure to aflatoxin and fumonisin in young children by using biomarkers of exposure and assess the impact of the exposure on child growth. A total of 166 children were recruited at age of 6 to 14 months in three villages; Nyabula (Iringa region), Kigwa (Tabora region) and Kikelelwa (Kilimanjaro region) and studied at recruitment, at 6 and 12 months after recruitment. Blood and urine samples were collected and analysed for plasma aflatoxin albumin adducts (AF-alb) using ELISA and urinary fumonisin B1 (UFB1) using LC-MS, respectively. Anthropometric measurements were taken and growth indices, Z-scores computed. AF-lab geometric mean concentrations with 95% CI were 4.7 (3.9 - 5.6), 12.9 (9.9 - 16.7) and 23.5 (19.9 - 27.7) pg/mg albumin at recruitment, at 6 and 12 months after recruitment, respectively. At these respective sampling periods, the geometric mean UFB1 concentrations were 313.9 (257.4 - 382.9), 167.3 (135.4 - 206.7) and 569.5 (464.5 - 698.2) pg/ml urine and the prevalence of stunted children was 44%, 55% and 56%, respectively. Poor child growth tracked over time, with 81% and 62% of children who were stunted and underweight, respectively at recruitment remaining at same status after one year. The UFB1 concentrations at recruitment were negatively associated with length for age Z-scores (LAZ) at 6 months (p = 0.016) and at 12 months after recruitment (p = 0.014). The mean UFB1 of the three surveys in each child was negatively associated with LAZ (p < 0.001) at 12 months after recruitment and length gained over the 12 months period (p = 0.004). There was a negative but non-significant association between AF-alb and child growth. The AF-alb and UFB1 levels varied between survey periods and between villages. The observations suggest that the studied children were chronically exposed to aflatoxin and fumonisin and poor child growth was prevalent and persisted over time, suggesting that exposure to aflatoxin and fumonisin may contribute to impairment of child growth
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    Dietary exposure to aflatoxin and fumonisin among children below three years in Iringa, Kilimanjaro and Tabora Regions, Tanzania
    (Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2016) Shirima, Candida Philip
    Aflatoxins and fumonisins are toxic food contaminants. Knowledge about status of human exposure to, and health effects of these toxins in Tanzania is inadequate. This study was conducted to assess the magnitude of dietary exposure to aflatoxin and fumonisin in young children by using biomarkers of exposure and assess the impact of the exposure on child growth. A total of 166 children were recruited at age of 6 to 14 months in three villages; Nyabula (Iringa region), Kigwa (Tabora region) and Kikelelwa (Kilimanjaro region) and studied at recruitment, at 6 and 12 months after recruitment. Blood and urine samples were collected and analysed for plasma aflatoxin albumin adducts (AF-alb) using ELISA and urinary fumonisin B1 (UFB1) using LC-MS, respectively. Anthropometric measurements were taken and growth indices, Z-scores computed. AF-lab geometric mean concentrations with 95% CI were 4.7 (3.9 - 5.6), 12.9 (9.9 - 16.7) and 23.5 (19.9 - 27.7) pg/mg albumin at recruitment, at 6 and 12 months after recruitment, respectively. At these respective sampling periods, the geometric mean UFB1 concentrations were 313.9 (257.4 - 382.9), 167.3 (135.4 - 206.7) and 569.5 (464.5 - 698.2) pg/ml urine and the prevalence of stunted children was 44%, 55% and 56%, respectively. Poor child growth tracked over time, with 81% and 62% of children who were stunted and underweight, respectively at recruitment remaining at same status after one year. The UFB1 concentrations at recruitment were negatively associated with length for age Z-scores (LAZ) at 6 months (p = 0.016) and at 12 months after recruitment (p = 0.014). The mean UFB1 of the three surveys in each child was negatively associated with LAZ (p < 0.001) at 12 months after recruitment and length gained over the 12 months period (p = 0.004). There was a negative but non-significant association between AF-alb and child growth. The AF-alb and UFB1 levels varied between survey periods and between villages. The observations suggest that the studied children were chronically exposed to aflatoxin and fumonisin and poor child growth was prevalent and persisted over time, suggesting that exposure to aflatoxin and fumonisin may contribute to impairment of child growth.
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    A Prospective Study of Growth and Biomarkers of Exposure to Aflatoxin and Fumonisin during Early Childhood in Tanzania
    (BMC [Commercial Publisher], 2015-10) Shirima, Candida P.; Kimanya, Martin E.; Routledge, Michael N.; Srey, Chou; Kinabo, Joyce L.; Hans‐Ulrich Humpf, Hans‐Ulrich; Wild, Christopher P.; Tu, Yu-Kang; Gong, Yun Yun
    Background: Aflatoxin and fumonisin are toxic food contaminants. Knowledge about effects of their exposure and coexposure on child growth is inadequate. Objective: We investigated the association between child growth and aflatoxin and fumonisin exposure in Tanzania. Methods: A total of 166 children were recruited at 6–14 months of age and studied at recruitment, and at the 6th and 12th month following recruitment. Blood and urine samples were collected and analyzed for plasma aflatoxin–albumin adducts (AF-alb) using ELISA, and urinary fumonisin B1 (UFB1) using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, respectively. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and growth index z-scores were computed. Results: AF-alb geometric mean concentrations (95% CIs) were 4.7 (3.9, 5.6), 12.9 (9.9, 16.7), and 23.5 (19.9, 27.7) pg/mg albumin at recruitment, 6 months, and 12 months from recruitment, respectively. At these respective sampling times, geometric mean UFB1 concentrations (95% CI) were 313.9 (257.4, 382.9), 167.3 (135.4, 206.7), and 569.5 (464.5, 698.2) pg/mL urine, and the prevalence of stunted children was 44%, 55%, and 56%, respectively. UFB1 concentrations at recruitment were negatively associated with length-for-age z-scores (LAZ) at 6 months (p = 0.016) and at 12 months from recruitment (p = 0.014). The mean UFB1 of the three sampling times (at recruitment and at 6 and 12 months from recruitment) in each child was negatively associated with LAZ (p < 0.001) and length velocity (p = 0.004) at 12 months from recruitment. The negative association between AF-alb and child growth did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Exposure to fumonisin alone or coexposure with aflatoxins may contribute to child growth impairment. Citation: Shirima CP, Kimanya ME, Routledge MN, Srey C, Kinabo JL, Humpf HU, Wild CP, Tu YK, Gong YY. 2015. A prospective study of growth and biomarkers of exposure to aflatoxin and fumonisin during early childhood in Tanzania. Environ Health Perspect 123:173–178;  http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408097