title: Survey of the occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in dairy products marketed in Iran.
abstract: In this survey the incidence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) contamination in some dairy products collected from the Iran market was investigated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. From February 2011 to February 2012, a total of 200 samples composed of yoghurt (60 samples), cheese (80 samples), and ice-cream (60 samples) showed that 75.5% of the tested samples were contaminated with various levels of AFM1 ranging from 14.3 to 572.1 ng/L. AFM1 was detected in 48 (80.0%) yoghurt samples (ranging from 19.7 to 319.4 ng/L), in 69 (86.3%) chesses samples (ranging from 14.3 to 572.1 ng/L) and in 34 (56.7%) of ice cream samples ranging from (ranging from14.9 to 147.4 ng/L). Eleven of cheese samples (13.8%) and three of yoghurt samples (5.0%) were higher that maximum tolerance limit accepted by European union/codex Alimentarius (250 ng/L). It was concluded that widespread occurrence of AFM1 in cheese samples was considered to be possible hazards for public health especially for children. This study suggests a regular monitoring of AFM1 in milk and milk products in the country.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Hygiene, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran ebrahimrahimi55@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ebrahim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rahimi
mesh_terms: D016607:Aflatoxin M1 / Q000032:analysis*; D003611:Dairy Products / Q000032:analysis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015994:Incidence; D007492:Iran
chemical_list: D016607:Aflatoxin M1