Aflatoxins: A food safety hazard in Kenyan dairy chains – prevalence, risks and assessment of a biocontrol solution

Ahlberg, S. 2020. Aflatoxins: A food safety hazard in Kenyan dairy chains – prevalence, risks and assessment of a biocontrol solution. PhD thesis. Helsinki, Finland: University of Helsinki.

Aflatoxins continue to be a food safety problem globally, especially in developing regions. Prevalent food contaminating aflatoxins are B1 (AFB1) and M1 (AFM1). These are human carcinogens and have potentially severe health impacts. Almost all (99.5 %) milk samples from Nairobi were contaminated with AFM1, highlighting the urgent need to create functional solutions to improve food safety. Based on the aflatoxin levels and milk consumption, risks were calculated: cancer risk caused by AFM1 was lower among consumers purchasing from formal markets (0.003 cases per 100,000) than for low-income consumers (0.006 cases per 100,000) purchasing from informal markets. Overall cancer risk (0.004 cases per 100,000) from AFM1 alone was low. Because of AFM1 in milk, 2.1 % of children below three years in middle-income families, and 2.4 % in low-income families, could be stunted. Overall, 2.7 % of children could hypothetically be stunted due to AFM1 exposure from milk. Based on these results AFM1 levels found in milk could contribute to an average of -0.340 height for age z-score reduction in growth. The exposure to AFM1 from milk is 46 ng/day on average, but children bear higher exposure of 3.5 ng/kg bodyweight (bw)/day compared with adults, at 0.8 ng/kg bw/day.

Aflatoxins are produced by Aspergillus flavus fungus, which is prevalent in soils. Certain strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been reported inhibiting fungal growth. 171 LAB strains were tested against aflatoxin producing A. flavus fungi. The three LAB strains showing the highest antifungal activity were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum. None of the strains was able to completely inhibit fungal growth under conditions favorable for fungi and suboptimal for LAB. The three indigenous LAB Lactobacillus strains and one Lactococcus strains were tested for their AFM1 binding abilities in different conditions and after different treatments along with two reference Lactobacillus strains. The binding of AFM1 by LAB strains varied between 11 to 100 % in the biocontrol solution analysis, being approximately at the level of 40 % throughout the analysis sets.

A significant amount of effort and resources have been invested in an attempt to control aflatoxins. However, these efforts have not substantially decreased the prevalence nor dietary exposure to aflatoxins in developing countries. The growth reduction of aflatoxin producing fungi with LAB could be one potential option, but there are still major issues to solve prior to any practical applications. A different approach to control aflatoxins suggesting the usage of binding agents in foods and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been studied extensively for this purpose. However, when assessing the results comprehensively and reviewing the practicality and ethics of use, risks are evident, and concerns arise. In conclusion, there are too many issues with using LAB for aflatoxin binding for it to be safely promoted. Arguably, using binders in human food might even worsen food safety in the longer term.

A more comprehensive food safety approach has to be taken to solve this ongoing crisis.