Aflatoxins contamination in raw and locally processed cashew nuts and the associated human health risks:

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dc.contributor.authorAkwilapo, Catherine Leonard
dc.date.accessioned2023-01-30T10:37:02Z
dc.date.available2023-01-30T10:37:02Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractAflatoxins (AFs) are one of the mycotoxins which are secondary metabolites of various fungi species; Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius. There are about eighteen types of aflatoxins that have been identified, but only four are found in food and feed: B 1 , B 2 , G 1 and G 2 . Aflatoxin B 1 is the most toxic and classified as group one carcinogen. Aflatoxins cause serious health problems and have high potential effects on liver cancer, therefore, numerous investigations have been conducted worldwide. The aim of this work was to determine the contamination levels of raw and roasted cashew nuts sold in Masasi and Newala districts of Mtwara region in Tanzania, evaluate the factors associated with the contamination and estimate human exposure to aflatoxin through consumption of contaminated cashew nuts. Determination of total aflatoxins levels in raw and roasted cashew nuts samples was carried out at Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) food laboratory in Dar es Salaam by using immuno-affinity high performance liquid chromatography. A total of 60 samples were collected and the highest concentration of aflatoxins recorded for raw cashew nuts was 3.29 μg/ kg in Masasi and 3.24 μg/kg in Newala. None of the samples had total aflatoxins contamination greater than the recommended maximum residues of 4 μg/kg set by European Commission (2010) or 10 μg/kg set by FAO and WHO. All roasted cashew nut samples had total aflatoxins less than 3 μg/kg while about 86% of raw cashew nut samples had total aflatoxins less than 3 μg/kg. The overall results of the tested samples indicated that the rate of contamination was very minimal for cashew nuts especially roasted nuts but raw cashew nuts showed higher contamination. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess awareness among cashew nuts stakeholders (smallholder farmers, traders and consumers) on aflatoxins contamination, demographic characteristics, handling practices and eating habit. The study showed that the cashew nuts value chain is highly dominated by females (64%), whose education level was primary school (58%). Very few respondents (<20%) in either category have heard ofiii aflatoxins in their lifetime or almost all were among those who have had either a secondary school or a college level of education. This study revealed that education level of the respondents was directly related to aflatoxins awareness. The human exposure to aflatoxin through consumption of contaminated cashew nuts in the study area was also estimated, whereby data on the rate of consumption was obtained through a structured questionnaire which involved 120 respondents. The results were used to calculate the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) and the Hazard Index (HI). The risk assessment for aflatoxins was evaluated by the qualitative Margin of Exposure (MOE) approach and the quantitative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk approach. The estimated cancer risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in this study ranged from 0.006 to 0.394 cancers per year per 10 5 individuals, upon consumption of cashew nuts with aflatoxin B 1 greater or equal to LOQ to highest contaminated samples, respectively. Since roasted cashew nuts which have less contamination level are highly consumed than raw (more than 50%), exposure to aflatoxins is very minimal to cashew nuts consumers. Although estimation of the margin of exposure and risk HCC revealed that cashew nuts, may pose health risks to consumers depending on the rate of consumption of the contaminated cashew nuts and the amount consumed.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipTanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/4898
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSokoine University Of Agricultureen_US
dc.subjectAflatoxins contaminationen_US
dc.subjectProcessed cashew nutsen_US
dc.subjectHuman health risksen_US
dc.subjectMasasi-Districtsen_US
dc.subjectNewala-Districtsen_US
dc.titleAflatoxins contamination in raw and locally processed cashew nuts and the associated human health risks:en_US
dc.title.alternativea case of Masasi and Newala Distrctsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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