Determination of aflatoxin M1 in dairy cattle milk in Khartoum State, Sudan

Aflatoxins are a group of mycotoxins that contaminate various types of food and feedstuff leading to health risk in both humans and animals. Aflatoxin M1 (AfM1), the major metabolite of AfB1, was determined in dairy cattle milk samples of Khartoum State of Sudan using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. A total of 44 bulk dairy cattle milk samples were collected and analyzed. The percentage of AfM1 contamination has been found in 42/44 (95.45%) samples with contamination level ranging between 0.22 and 6.90 μg L-1 and average concentration of 2.07 μg L-1. AfM1 contamination in the samples of dairy cattle milk of Khartoum State of Sudan appears to be prevalent and may pose a public health problem at the moment. Awareness must be conveyed to producers, handlers and specialists. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.