Aflatoxin Contamination in Food Commodities in Bangladesh

During September 2009, we performed a rapid cross-sectional study to investigate the extent of aflatoxin contamination among common Bangladeshi foods. We collected eight common human food commodities (rice, lentils, wheat flour, dates, betelnut, red chili powder, ginger and groundnuts) and poultry feed samples from two large markets in each of three cities in Bangladesh. We quantified aflatoxin levels from pooled subsamples using fluorescence high-performance liquid chromatography. Aflatoxin levels were highest in dates and groundnuts (maximum 623 and 423 ng/g), respectively. Samples of betelnut (mean 30.6 ng/g), lentils (mean 21.2 ng/g) and red chili powder (>20 ng/g) also had elevated levels. The mean aflatoxin level among poultry feed samples was 73.0 ng/g. Aflatoxin levels were above the US maximum regulatory levels of 20 ng/g in five of eight commonly ingested human food commodities tested.