Aflatoxin M1 in milk and milk products: a short review

Aflatoxin M-1 (AFM(1)) is associated with carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity and as a result, represents a human health problem worldwide. This review will detail the toxicity, analytical methodology, occurrence, and prevention and control of AFM(1) in milk and milk products. The probable daily intakes (PDI) per bodyweight (bw) worldwide ranged from 0.002 to 0.26 ng/kg bw/day for AFM(1). Nevertheless, the high occurrence of AFM(1) demonstrated in this review establishes the need for monitoring to reduce the risk of toxicity to humans. The recommended extraction method of AFM(1) from milk is liquid-liquid with acetonitrile because of the acceptable recoveries (85-97%), compatibility with the environment, and cleanest extracts. The recommended analytical technique for the determination of AFM(1) in milk is the high performance-liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD), achieving a 0.001 mu g/kg detection limit. The HPLC-FLD is the most common internationally recognised official method for the analysis of AFM(1) in milk. The suggested extraction and analytical method for cheese is dichloromethane (81-108% recoveries) and ELISA, respectively. This review reports the projected worldwide occurrence of AFM(1) in milk of 2010-2015. Of the 7,841 samples, 5,873 (75%) were positive for AFM(1), 26% (2,042) exceeded the maximum residue levels (MRL) of 0.05 mu g/kg defined by the European Union and 1.53% (120) exceeded the MRL of 0.5 mu g/kg defined by the US Food and Drug Administration. The most effective way of preventing AFM(1) occurrences is to reduce contamination of AFB(1) in animal feed using biological control with atoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus, proper storage of crops, and the addition of binders to AFB(1)-contaminated feed. Controllable measures include the addition of binders and use of biological transforming agents such as lactic acid bacteria applied directly to milk. Though the one accepted method for the control of AFM(1) in milk and milk products is the enforcement of governmental MRL.