title: Mycological and aflatoxin contamination of peanuts sold at markets in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Pretoria, South Africa.
abstract: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important food crop in sub-Saharan Africa. In this survey, the mycological and aflatoxin contamination of peanuts collected from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Pretoria, South Africa, was assessed. Twenty peanut samples were purchased randomly at informal markets in the two cities and analysed for mycoflora and aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2) using standard methods. The results indicated that 95% of the Kinshasa samples and 100% of the Pretoria samples were contaminated with aflatoxigenic fungi in the ranges 20-49,000 and 40-21,000 CFU/g, respectively. Seventy-five per cent of the Kinshasa samples and 35% of the Pretoria samples exceeded the maximum limits of AFB1 as set by The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Residents of both cities are at a high risk of aflatoxin exposure despite their apparent cultural, socio-economic, geographic and climatic differences. Further work needs to be done to understand the supply chains of peanut trade in informal markets of the two countries so that interventions are well targeted on a regional rather than a national level.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences , University of South Africa (UNISA) , Florida Campus , South Africa.
authors.forename: Ilunga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kamika
authors.forename: Pamella
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mngqawa
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rheeder
authors.forename: Snow L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Teffo
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Katerere
mesh_terms: D016604:Aflatoxin B1 / Q000032:analysis; D000348:Aflatoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D010367:Arachis / Q000382:microbiology*; D003132:Commerce; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D004032:Diet; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005658:Fungi; D006801:Humans; D009754:Nuts / Q000382:microbiology*; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D000348:Aflatoxins; D016604:Aflatoxin B1
keywords: Aspergillus; aflatoxins; correlation between fungal and aflatoxin contamination; groundnut; mycoflora