Occurrence of aflatoxins in feedstuff, sheep milk and dairy products in Western Sicily

Abstract

Samples of feedstuffs (15), milk (40), and cheese (30) coming from sheep and dairy farms (23) or market in Western Sicily were analyzed for their respective content of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and M1 (AFM1) to evidence any possible indirect mycotoxin contamination risk to the consumer. Analyses using HPLC and fluorescence detection were performed after immunoaffinity column sample extraction and cleanup; AFM1 was detected in 30% of the milk samples at levels ranging from 4 to 23 ng/l and in 13% of the cheeses from 21 to 101 ng/kg; in the feed the AFB1 ranged from <10 to 769 ng/kg. None of the contaminated samples exceeded the legal limits set down by the European Union for milk (50 ng/l) and feed (5 µg/kg ), or that in force in the Netherlands for cheese (200 ng/kg).