Flour and Bread Aflatoxin Contamination and Risk Assessment of Aflatoxin Intake through Bread Consumption in Iran

In recent years, limited information has been provided regarding the occurrence of aflatoxins in flour samples and in traditional flat breads in comparison to the leavened breads in Iran. In this study, aflatoxin contamination in some bakery products and assessment of risk of aflatoxin intake were investigated.
In this experimental cross-sectional study, 66 samples including 29 different flour samples, 14 traditional flat bread samples, 10 leavened bread samples, and 13 samples of sesame and seeds used for dressing breads were randomly collected from different factories and bakeries in Isfahan, Iran, and examined for aflatoxin residue using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specific kit. The risk of aflatoxin intake for consumers was assessed using hazard quotient and mean and data analysis was conducted using one-way ANOVA and Fisher’s least significant difference (LSD).
Findings: Aflatoxin residue was found in all of the studied samples in the range of 0.5 to 6.54 pbb and did not exceed the national standard level (15 pbb). Traditional flat breads contained two times more aflatoxin than leavened breads. Hazard quotient ranged from 5.4 to 101 and the relative carcinogenic risk was higher than 10-4.
Despite the low aflatoxin contamination levels in bread in this study, the hazard index of higher than the tolerable limit for humans showed that reduction of daily bread consumption in Iran is critical.