Determination of Aflatoxin M1 in Liquid Milk, Cheese, and Selected Milk Proteins by Automated Online Immunoaffinity Cleanup with Liquid Chromatography‒Fluorescence Detection

Abstract

Background: Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by a number of species of Aspergillus fungi. Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a hydroxylated metabolite of aflatoxin B1 and is found in the milk of cows fed with feed spoilt by Aspergillus species. AFM1 is carcinogenic, especially in the liver and kidneys, and mutagenic, and is also an immunosuppressant in humans.

Objective: A high-throughput method for the quantitative analysis of AFM1 that is applicable to liquid milk, cheese, milk protein concentrate (MPC), whey protein concentrate (WPC), whey protein isolate (WPI), and whey powder (WP) was developed and validated.

Method: AFM1 in cheese, milk, and protein products is extracted using 1% acetic acid in acetonitrile with citrate salts. The AFM1 in the resulting extract is concentrated using RIDA®CREST/IMMUNOPREP® ONLINE cartridges followed by quantification by HPLC‒fluorescence.

Results: The method was shown to be accurate for WP, WPC, WPI, MPC, liquid milk, and cheese, with acceptable recovery (81-112%) from spiked samples. Acceptable precision for WP, WPC, WPI, MPC, liquid milk, and cheese was confirmed, with repeatabilities of 4-12% RSD and intermediate precisions of 5-13% RSD. Method detection limit and ruggedness experiments further demonstrated the suitability of this method for routine compliance testing. An international proficiency scheme (FAPAS) cheese sample showed that this method gave results that were comparable with those from other methods.

Conclusions: A method for high-throughput, routine testing of AFM1 is described. The method was subjected to single-laboratory validation and was found to be accurate, precise, and fit-for-purpose.

Highlights: An automated online immunoaffinity cleanup HPLC‒fluorescence method for milk proteins, cheese, and milk was developed and single-laboratory validated. It allows for high-throughput analysis of AFM1 and can be used for the analysis of AFM1 in whey protein products.