Aflatoxin M1 levels in UHT milk and kashar cheese consumed in Turkey

In the present study, 100 UHT milk and 132 kashar cheese samples were analyzed for aflatoxin M1 (AFM1). They were obtained from retail outlets in five big cities (Istanbul, Izmir, Konya, Tekirdag, Edirne). The occurrence and concentration range of AFM1 in the samples were investigated by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Sixty-seven percent of the UHT milk samples and 82.6% of the kashar cheese samples contained AFM1. The positive incidence of AFM1 in the UHT milk samples and the kashar cheese samples ranged from 10 to 630 ng/kg and from 50 to 690 ng/kg, respectively. AFM1 levels in 31 (31%) UHT milk and 36 (27.3%) kashar cheese samples exceeded the maximum tolerable limit of the EC and the TFC. AFM1 levels in the samples show that there is a presence of high aflatoxin level that constitutes a human health risk in Turkey. Therefore milk and dairy products have to be controlled continuously for presence of AFM1 contamination by the Turkish public health authorities. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.