Determination of the levels of aflatoxin in stored maize of jimma town, Ethiopia

Abstract

In this study the levels of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, and G2) in maize samples stored in Jimma town, Ethiopia were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with Fluorescence detector. The maize samples were collected from four different maize stores in the town using standard sampling protocol. The average moisture content of the samples was also investigated. The average moisture content of the maize samples collected from store 1, store 2, store 3 and store 4 were 11.215, 11.326, 11.312 and 10.945 %, respectively and the obtained moisture contents were all below the standard value, i.e., 14%. The mean total aflatoxin levels in the collected maize samples from store 1, store 2, store 3 and store 4 were 0.617, 0.620, 0.267, and 0.315 μg/kg, respectively. The levels of aflatoxin detected in all the studied maize samples were lower than the maximum tolerance limits set by international organizations such as the US Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization and the European Union. Thus, the maize samples stored in Jimma town are safe in terms of the studied aflatoxins.