title: Study of an Educational Hand Sorting Intervention for Reducing Aflatoxin B1in Groundnuts in Rural Gambia.
abstract: Aflatoxin, a human liver carcinogen, frequently contaminates groundnuts, maize, rice, and other grains, especially in Africa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention that involved training rural Gambian women on how to identify and remove moldy groundnuts to reduce aflatoxin B1(AFB1) contamination. In total, 25 women, recruited from the West Kiang region of The Gambia, were trained on how to recognize and remove moldy groundnuts. Market-purchased groundnuts were hand sorted by the women. Groundnuts were sampled at baseline (n =5), after hand sorting ("clean," n =25 and "moldy," n =25), and after roasting (n =5). All samples were analyzed for AFB1by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A reduction of 42.9% was achieved based on the median AFB1levels at baseline and after hand sorting (clean groundnuts), whereas an alternative estimate, based on the total AFB1in moldy and clean groundnuts, indicated a reduction of 96.7%, with a loss of only 2% of the groundnuts. By roasting the already clean sorted groundnuts, the AFB1reduction achieved (based on median levels) was 39.3%. This educational intervention on how to identify and remove moldy groundnuts was simple and effective in reducing AFB1contamination.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: Y A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council (MRC) International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.|MRC Keneba, MRC Unit, The Gambia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doel
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: Sinead
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Routledge
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: MRC Keneba, MRC Unit, The Gambia.|MRC Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge CB1 9NL, UK.
authors.forename: Sophie E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: Yun Yun
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D016604:Aflatoxin B1; D000348:Aflatoxins; D010367:Arachis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000348:Aflatoxins; D016604:Aflatoxin B1
keywords: Aflatoxins; Groundnuts; Hand sorting; Intervention; Postharvest; West Africa