Detection of Aflatoxin M1 in spray dried and lyophilize Bovine colostrum Products

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is an important mycotoxin frequently found in milk and dairy products. Dairy products and colostrum may be contaminated by aflatoxin M1 when dairy cattle have fed with aflatoxin B1-contaminated feeds. This study was undertaken in a dairy farm around Tehran province to determine the presence and level of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in spray dried and lyophilized colostrum samples. In this study, 25 spray dried and lyophilized colostrum samples were analyzed using competitive ELISA for determining the presence and levels of AFM1. AFM1 was found in 76% of the colostrum samples. The range of contamination level was 16 ng/l to 1176 ng/l, (mean value was 213.37 ng /l). Ninety two percent of the contaminated samples exceeded the maximum acceptable levels (50 ng/l, EU standard) and 8% exceeded 500 ng/l. Due to human health hazard and high occurrence of AFM1 in colostrum samples, monitoring programs should be more extensive and frequent in Iran.