Occurrence of fungi and aflatoxins in corn kernels

Abstract

it interferes with the commercial classification and poses a risk for food security. The objective of this study was identifying and quantifying the occurrence of fungi and determining the aflatoxins in corn kernels freshly harvested and stored. Eighty-four samples, corresponding to 2009 and 2010 crops, were collected from different municipalities located in the North, South, East and West regions of the State of Mato Grosso. The fungi were determined by incubation technique using blotter test on filter paper, and the aflatoxins detection and quantification were performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Genera of fungi Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Nigrospora, Epicocum, Rhizopus, Curvularia, and Cercospora were identified. The corn kernels of both crops were mainly contaminated with Fusarium, Aspergillus and Penicillium. In 84 samples, the occurrence of aflatoxins was evidenced in 19.04% of corns from 2009 crop, and 23.80% of samples of 2010 crop showed contamination ranging from 1 μg/kg to 108,7 μg/kg.