title: Aflatoxin M1 levels in Surk samples, a traditional Turkish cheese from southern Turkey.
abstract: In this study, aflatoxin M(1) (AFM(1)) contamination was investigated in Surk cheese, a traditional Turkish cheese consumed particularly in southern Turkey. For this purpose, 120 Surk cheese samples were collected from different retail markets and analysed by enzyme-linked immunoassay. The level of AFM(1) varied from 16 to 1,043 ng/kg in 72 of the Surk samples (60%), 16 of which (13.3% of 120 samples) contained AFM(1) amounts exceeding the maximum tolerance limit (250 ng/kg) established in Turkey. The results indicated that the occurrence of AFM(1) in Surk cheese samples may be considered as a possible risk for consumer health.
authors.affiliation: Suleyman Demirel Keban Vocational School, Programme of Food Technology, Firat University, Keban/Elazig, Turkey. oaygun@firat.edu.tr
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aygun
authors.forename: Dinc
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Essiz
authors.forename: Hisamettin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Durmaz
authors.forename: Ender
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yarsan
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Altintas
mesh_terms: D016607:Aflatoxin M1 / Q000032:analysis*; D002611:Cheese; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D016607:Aflatoxin M1