Aflatoxin M in Milk.....: a review*

Abstract

At present the dairy industries in Saudi Arabia are growing steadily and that emphasizes the need for giving special attention to the presence of aflatoxin M in dairy products. Recently the incidence of aflatoxin in animal feed ingredients has increased and that will increase the posibility of the occurrence of aflatoxin M in milk. However, aflatoxin M is a toxic (100% as AFB\), Carcinogenic (33% of AFB\), and mutagenic 3.3% of AFB\) metabolite compound. This paper is a review of aflatoxin M in milk from lactating cows fed on aflatoxin-contaminated ration, where a linear relationship existed between the amount of AFB! ingested and the concentration of AFM! in milk. Our interest was directed to review origin, excretion, biological effect, processing effects, and control of aflatoxin M in milk from lactating cows fed on aflatoxin-contaminated rations. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established guidelines of 0.5 ppb for aflatoxin M in milk taking in the consider-ation that infants and young children are very likely to consume considerable quantities of milk and they are to be more susceptible to the carcinogenic effect of aflatoxin. The Saudi Arabian Standard Organiza-tion(SASO) is now in the process of establishing guidelines for aflatoxins in animal feeds to prevent occurrence of aflatoxin M in milk.