Occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in baby foods marketed in Iran

BACKGROUNDAflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)), a toxic fungal metabolite that is found in baby foods, can lead to serious complications for children's health. In the present study, 48 commercial baby foods available in the Iranian market were investigated for the presence of AFB(1) using a high performance liquid chromatography system that was equipped with post-column photochemical derivatization and a fluorescence detector. RESULTSThirty-three out of 48 samples (68.7%) were contaminated with AFB(1) at median, maximum and mean concentration levels of 0.11, 15.15 and 2.602 4.065 mu g kg(-1), respectively. The AFB(1) concentration in 39.6% of the samples was higher than the maximum level established in Iran for AFB(1) within baby foods containing milk (0.5 mu g kg(-1)). The incidence of AFB(1) in rice, wheat and multigrain infant cereal samples was 90%, 25% and 100%, respectively, whereas rice-based baby foods contained the highest levels of AFB(1). CONCLUSION In the present study, the finding of both high rates and high levels of cereal baby foods indicates the need to reduce contamination in these products. Therefore, further monitoring and control of pre- and post-harvest, storage, and manufacturing processes is required. (c) 2016 Society of Chemical Industry