Evaluation of Mycotoxins in Infant Breast Milk and Infant Food, Reviewing the Literature Data

In this review, an analysis focusing on mycotoxin determination in infant breast milk and infant food has been summarised for the last fifteen years of research focused on the intended population group of 1-9 months. The objective was to know the level of exposure of the child population to an estimated daily intake (EDI) of mycotoxins from the consumption of habitual foods. The EDI was compared with the tolerable daily intake (TDI) established by EFSA to estimate risk. In breast milk, the high prevalence and levels were for samples from Africa (Egypt and Tanzania) with aflatoxin M1 (1.9 mu g/L and 10%), and Asia (Iran) with ochratoxin-A (7.3 mu g/L and 100%). In infant formulas, high incidences and values were for samples with aflatoxin M1 from Burkina Faso (167 samples, 84%, 87 mu g/kg). In cereal products, the highest incidence was for DON from the United States (96 samples), and the highest value was an Italian sample (0.83 mu g/kg of enniatin B). In fruit products, patulin was the most detected in Italian (78) and Spanish (24) samples. The highest risk was observed in breast milk during the first month of age, the highest EDI for aflatoxin M1 was reported for Egypt (344-595 ng/kg bw/day) and ochratoxin-A for Iran (97-167ng/kg bw/day), representing a public health problem.

Automated summary

This review summarizes research on mycotoxin determination in infant breast milk and infant food over the past fifteen years, focusing on the population group of 1-9 months old. The findings show varying levels of mycotoxin contamination in different regions and foods, with breast milk posing the highest risk for infants within the first month of birth.