Determination of Aflatoxin M1 in Fresh (Raw and Pasteurized) Cow Milk in Khuzestan Province

Aflatoxin M1 is a life-threatened toxin with high carcinogenicity potency which is secreted in milk by ingestion of contaminated feed in livestock. This study was done to evaluate the level of aflatoxin M1 in raw and pasteurized milk during summer and winter seasons in Khuzestan province. Subjects and One hundred and twenty samples (60 pasteurized milk, 60 raw milk (were collected from milk collecting centers and supermarkets during summer and winter of 2011 and AFM1 was evaluated by HPLC method and (P< 0.05) was considered significant. All raw and pasteurized milk samples were contaminated in winter. The main ± SD of raw and pasteurized milk were 0.013±0.009ng/ml and 0.017±0.0015ng/ml in winter, respectively. The mean ± SD of raw and pasteurized milk were 0.007±0.0012 and 0.009±0.0011 ng/ml, in summer, respectively. The mean concentration of raw and pasteurized milk in summer showed significantly lower levels than in winter (P<0.05). AFM1 was greater than maximum acceptable limit in one pasteurized milk sample with 0.065ng/ml. With regard to contamination of all samples in winter, fungal growth condition and AFB1 production should be eliminated.