Aflatoxin M1 in Milk Products in China and Dietary Risk Assessment

This study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of aflatoxin M-1 (AFM(1)) in milk products in China using the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method and to estimate the dietary exposure to this toxin through a probabilistic approach. Based on the exposure assessment results, a quantitative cancer potency formula developed by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives was applied to assess the cancer risk. AFM1 was detected in 48.07% of the milk samples and 4.49% of the yoghurt samples. No samples contained AFM(1) above the current regulatory limit in China. The simulated AFM(1) intake (90% confidence interval) in various sex-age groups ranged from 0.023 (0.021 to 0.023) ng/kg of body weight per day for 30-to 45-year-old men to 0.382 (0.354 to 0.386) ng/ kg of body weight per day for 2- to 4-year-old girls at the 99th percentile. The cancer risk of AFM(1) to the general population of China was assessed to be 0.129 cancer cases per year per 10(8) persons at the 99th percentile. These results indicate that the health risk associated with AFM(1) in milk in China is relatively low