Contamination profile of aflatoxin M1 residues in milk supply chain of Sindh, Pakistan

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a potent carcinogen, teratogen and mutagen found in the milk when lactating animals consume feed contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). In the present study, the contamination of AFM1 was evaluated in the milk supply chain of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. For the broader profiling of targeted toxin, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the determination of AFM1 in both branded and non-branded milk samples. The results showed that 96.43% of samples (81 out of 84) were contaminated with AFM1 in the range of 0.01-0.76 μg/L. The average contamination level was 0.38 μg/L. The determined values of AFM1 in the collected milk samples were above the standard limit of the European Commission while 70% of the samples exceeded levels established by United States regulations. According to these results, the estimated daily intake of AFM1 for adults was determined as 3.1 ng/kg of body weight per day.