Incidence and Levels of Aflatoxin M1 in Artisanal and Manufactured Cheese in Pernambuco State, Brazil

Isabela Maria de Moura Silva; Adriano Gomes da Cruz; Sher Ali; Lucas Gabriel Dionisio Freire; Luzianna Macedo Fonseca; Roice Eliana Rosim; Carlos Humberto Corassin; Rodrigo Barbosa Acioli de Oliveira; Carlos Augusto Fernandes de Oliveira

doi:10.3390/toxins15030182

Incidence and Levels of Aflatoxin M₁ in Artisanal and Manufactured Cheese in Pernambuco State, Brazil

Toxins (Basel). 2023 Feb 28;15(3):182. doi: 10.3390/toxins15030182.

Authors

Isabela Maria de Moura Silva¹, Adriano Gomes da Cruz², Sher Ali³, Lucas Gabriel Dionisio Freire³, Luzianna Macedo Fonseca⁴, Roice Eliana Rosim³, Carlos Humberto Corassin³, Rodrigo Barbosa Acioli de Oliveira¹, Carlos Augusto Fernandes de Oliveira³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Consumer Science, Post-graduate program in Food Science and Technology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Pernambuco 52171-900, PE, Brazil.
² Department of Foods, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ), Rio de Janeiro 20270-021, RJ, Brazil.
³ Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering (FZEA), University of São Paulo (USP), Pirassununga 13635-900, SP, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Animal Husbandry, Luiz de Quiroz Higher School of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba 13418-900, SP, Brazil.

Abstract

Cheese is one of the most susceptible dairy foods to accumulating aflatoxins due to their high affinity to caseins. The consumption of cheese contaminated with high levels of aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) can be highly harmful to humans. The present work, based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), highlights the frequency and levels of AFM₁ in coalho and mozzarella cheese samples (n = 28) from the main cheese-processing plants in Araripe Sertão and Agreste in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Of the evaluated cheeses, 14 samples were artisanal cheeses and the remaining 14 were industrial (manufactured) cheeses. All samples (100%) had detectable levels of AFM₁, with concentrations ranging from 0.026 to 0.132 µg/kg. Higher levels (p < 0.05) of AFM₁ were observed in artisanal mozzarella cheeses, but none of the cheese samples exceed the maximum permissible limits (MPLs) of 2.5 µg/kg established for AFM₁ in cheese in Brazil and 0.25 µg/kg in the European countries by the European Union (EU). The high incidence of low levels of AFM₁ found in the evaluated cheeses underscores the need for stringent control measures to prevent this mycotoxin in milk used for cheese production in the study area, with the aim of protecting public health and reducing significant economic losses for producers.

Keywords: AFM1; HPLC; cheese; contamination.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aflatoxin M1* / analysis
Animals
Brazil
Cheese* / analysis
Food Contamination / analysis
Humans
Incidence
Milk / chemistry

Substances

Aflatoxin M1

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq; grant number 304262/2021-8), and in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES; Finance code 001) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo—Brasil (FAPESP; grant numbers 2019/21603-1 and 2022/03952-1).