Aflatoxin in peanut butter and compliance with the national food laws among SMEs in Dar es Salaam region
Loading...
Date
2019
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin in peanut butter and
compliance with the national food laws among SMEs peanut butter manufacturers in
Dar es Salaam region. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess awareness on
aflatoxin contamination in peanut butter, and observation checklist was used to assess
compliance practices with national food laws among SMEs peanut butter manufacturers.
Samples of peanut butter were collected randomly from 30 peanut butter SMEs selected
from the list provided by Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO). Samples
were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence
detection. The total amount of aflatoxins detected in peanut butter samples ranged from
0.075 to 317 μg/kg of which 33.3% of the samples for AFB1 (5.1 to 277.7 μg/kg) and
26.6% of the samples for total aflatoxin (15.5 to 317 μg/kg) exceeded the TBS regulatory
limit 5 μg/kg and 15 μg/kg respectively as established by TZS 844:2014. The results
revealed that all peanut butter SMEs had knowledge on susceptibility of peanut and
peanut butter to aflatoxin while only 3.3% of peanut butter SME was not aware on
favorable conditions for aflatoxin in peanuts. These peanut butter SMEs did not register
80% of the premises and 83.3% of the products, and most 90% of the products did not
have TBS marks. Also 56.7% of peanut butter SMEs did not have business license.
The high level of aflatoxin found in peanut butter poses significant threats to the health of
consumers. Therefore, food regulatory authorities should encourage SMEs peanut butter
manufacturers to use clean raw material and practice required Quality Assurance (QA),
and should monitor the levels of aflatoxin in peanut butter and ensure all SMEs peanut
butter manufacturers are registered and comply with the national food laws.
Description
A Dissertation 2019
Keywords
Aflatoxin, Peanut butter, National food laws, Small medium enterprise, Dar Es Salaam Region