Aflatoxin B1contamination in groundnut samples collected from different geographical regions of India: A multicentre study

Abstract

Under a multicentre study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 2062 samples of groundnut were collected from rural and urban areas of 11 states representing different geographical regions of the country. These samples were analysed for aflatoxin B₁using the AOAC method. Analytical quality assurance between various participating laboratories was ensured through analysis of check‐samples. Twenty‐one per cent of groundnut samples collected from 11 states exceeded the permissible Indian regulatory limit of 30 μg/kg. No statistically significant difference in percentage of samples contaminated (> 30 μg/kg) was observed between pooled rural (22.9%) and urban (19.9%) data. Amongst the 11 states, the minimum and maximum per cent contamination respectively (>30 μg/kg) were observed to be 15.2 in the state of Andhra Pradesh and 28.3 in the state of Haryana. The maximum level of contamination of 833 μg/kg was observed in the state of Gujarat. The median level of < 5 μg/kg was observed in the states of Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In all other states studied, the median level was found to vary between 10 and 20 μg/kg. The 90th percentile values were high in Andhra Pradesh (125 μg/kg), Gujarat (111 μg/kg) and Haryana (110 μg/kg). In the remaining states the 90th percentile value ranged from 60 to 93 μg/kg. Analysis of pooled data showed the percentages of samples exceeding the level of contamination of 5 μg/kg and 15 μg/kg, respectively were 44.9% and 37.4% which therefore, showed a marked increase when compared with the per cent of samples exceeding 30 μg/kg in the overall data.