Aflatoxin M1 in Pasteurized Milk in Babol city, Mazandaran Province, Iran

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is the metabolite of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and is found in milk when lactating animals are fed with contaminated feedstuff. The presence of AFM1 in milk, pose a major risk for humans especially kids as it can have immunosuppressive, mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic effects. The present study is aimed to investigate the oc­currence of AFM1 in subsidized pasteurized milk in Babol, Mazandaran Province, Iran. Some 72 pasteurized milk packages were collected from supermarkets in various districts of city during January to March 2006. Milk samples were centrifuged and amounts of 100 µl of skimmed milk were tested for AFM1 contamina­tion by competitive ELISA. All the samples (100%) exhibited contamination with AFM1. The contamination levels means in January, Febru­ary, and March were 227.85, 229.64, and 233.1ng/l, respectively. The amount of AFM1 in all the samples were above 50ng/l, the threshold set by the European community regulations. Monitoring of AFM1 level should be part of quality control procedures in dairy factories, particularly the ones pro­viding infant's milk. Production of safer and healthier milk and other dairy products with minimum AFM1 level can be achieved by adopting prophylactic measures including control of humidity and water content of feedstuff, which favors mould production.