Incidence and consumers awareness of the toxigenic Aspergillus section Flavi & aflatoxin B1 in groundnut cake from Nigeria.
Abstract
Peanut cake samples were collected from major markets in ?ve states of Nigeria and evaluated for incidence of toxigenic Aspergillus section Flavi populations, and a?atoxin B1 (AFB1) levels by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LCeMS/MS). The awareness of consumers to the presence of a?atoxin in the snack and potential health risks of its regular ingestionwas evaluated by questionnaire analysis. Aspergillus section Flavi populations were recovered from 83% of the peanut cake samples. Aspergillus ?avus L-strain was the most predominant (>56%) across the states while Aspergillus tamarii had the least mean incidence (2.7%). The incidence of atoxigenic strains was signi?cantly (p < 0>