Aflatoxin Occurrence in Nuts Consumed in Arak, Iran

Aflatoxins are fungal toxins which may be present in food and due to their hazard effects to health, present a major concern for human and food industries. In the present study, the contamination of aflatoxin in nuts (fig, almond, hazelnut, walnut, pistachio and sunflower) consumed in Arak, Iran in 2012 was evaluated by means of ELISA method. 167 samples, consisted of fig (n=16), almond (n=14), hazelnut (n=20), walnut (n=25), pistachio (n=57), sunflower (n=35) were selected and analyzed for aflatoxin content. Results show that 59.9 % (100 of 167 samples nuts) of the samples were detected aflatoxin positive, the total average concentration of aflatoxin in all studied nuts is 1.12µg/kg. 1.2 % (2 of 167) of nuts samples with aflatoxins amount greater than EU limit (4µg/kg), and aflatoxins amounts in all studied samples are lower than legal limit of national standard of Iran (15µg/kg).

Aflatoxin, Nuts, Food safety, ELISA