Study of Aflatoxin-producing Fungi Contamination of Raisins Varieties Produced in Khorasane Razavi Province

The aim of this study was to investigate the mold contamination of main raisins varieties produced in Khorasan Razavi Province with aflatoxin-producing fungi and determine amount of aflatoxins. For this purpose 50 samples were collected from different markets in Kashmar, Khalil abad, Bardaskan, Mashhad and Quchan (10 samples from each city). The result showed that from 50 raisin samples, 44 samples (88%) were contaminated with fungi. The lowest and highest level of fungal contamination were observed in Quchan and Kashmar, respectively. Aflatoxigenic potential of fungi that isolated from contaminated samples were evaluated using Coconut Agar Medium and under UV light (365 nm). It is observed that 29 samples (65.9%) had Aflatoxigenic fungi. The presence of aflatoxin was confirmed by high pressure liquid chromatography. No sample had greater AFB1 levels than the maximum allowed levels (5 ng/g) in raisins accepted by ISIRI (Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran). Although the amount of AFB1 in raisin varieties produced in Khorasan Razavi Province, does not appear to create a serious public health problem at present, because of Percapita consumption of raisins in Iran (22 kg/year) it is necessary to consider it as a serious health problem.