SINGAPORE – A satay seasoning product has been recalled after high levels of a cancer-causing toxin were detected in it, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced on Monday (March 15).
Instant Satay Spices by home-grown manufacturer Li Kwong Agencies Co was found to contain aflatoxins exceeding permitted levels.
SFA has directed the manufacturer to recall all batches of the product that bear the expiry date of Jan 19, 2022, and are sold in 50g and 500g packets.
All stakeholders dealing in maize imports would be required to be registered, the consignments coming in must be accompanied with certificate of conformity on aflatoxin levels and that traders have to issue details of their warehouses and the certificate of conformity should indicate that the aflatoxin levels complies with the maximum required levels of 10 parts per billion, the Ministry of Agriculture said. This comes a week after Kenya banned the importation of maize from two neighbouring countries, Tanzania and Uganda, after studies revealed higher than normal levels of mycotoxins. In a letter to the neighbours, the Kenya Agriculture and Food authority said they were “conducting surveillance on the safety of food imports into Kenya”. Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by certain fungi and can be found in food. It grows on a variety of different crops and foodstuffs including cereals, nuts, spices, dried fruits, apples and coffee beans, often under warm and humid conditions.
Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Research
aflatoxins (B1 = 9.8; Tot. = 12 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Egypt in the Netherlands
aflatoxins (B1 = 6.2; Tot. = 7.2 µg/kg – ppb) in peanut butter from the United States in Belgium
aflatoxins (B1 = 51.9; Tot. = 57.5 µg/kg – ppb) in organic dried figs from Turkey in Norway
aflatoxins (B1 = 3.2 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from China in Bulgaria
aflatoxins (B1 = 23.7; Tot. = 25.9 / B1 = 6.3; Tot. = 7.1 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Egypt in Italy
Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, RASFF
The recent decision by Kenya to suspend maize imports from Uganda and Tanzania has stirred public concern over the safety of some food that is produced in the region, particularly grains.
Last week, Kenya banned the importation of maize from both countries, saying the products contained high levels of aflatoxins.
Kenya’s Agriculture and Food Authority said that the products were not fit for human consumption.
“The recommended levels of aflatoxin are ten parts per billion but the imports indicate that the levels are at 2,000 parts per billion, which is lethal,” Kello Harsama, the Acting Director-General of the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), told the media last week.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), aflatoxins are poisonous substances produced by certain kinds of fungi (moulds) that are found naturally all over the world; they can contaminate food crops and pose a serious health threat to humans and livestock.
WHO estimates that aflatoxins pose a significant economic burden, causing an estimated 25 per cent or more of the world’s food crops to be destroyed annually.
The decision by Kenya comes at the time some local agro-processing firms have been resorting to importing some grains, saying that the ones produced in the country contain high levels of aflatoxins.
Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin
Kenya has banned all maize imports to curb the entry of unsafe grains into the country.
According to a letter by the acting Director-General of the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), Kello Harsama to the Commissioner of Customs in the Kenya Revenue Authority, the ban has been put in place after a survey on maize from Uganda and Tanzania showed it was not fit for human consumption.
“The authority has been conducting surveillance on the safety of food imports into Kenya. The results from maize imported from Uganda and Kenya have revealed high levels of mycotoxins that are consistently beyond safety limits,” reads the letter dated March 5.
Tunis/Tunisia — A 800-tonne shipment of imported white rice, nearly half of which is contaminated with aflatoxins, is still stored separately in warehouses of the Tunisian Commerce Office (French: OCT), CEO Elyes Ben Ameur told TAP on Wednesday. Another shipment of 600 tonnes is being checked.
The value of imported shipments amounts to 1.5 million dinars. Ben Ameur said the OCT became aware of the contamination in early 2021 after a self-monitoring operation.
Aflatoxins are mycotoxins produced by certain fungi that proliferate in particular on seeds stored in hot and conditions. They are highly carcinogenic.
The research was designed to investigate the amount of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in animal feed (corn, wheat bran, peanut cake, soybean meal, and cotton seed meal) and aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in raw milk of animals (cow milk, buffalo milk, goat milk and sheep milk), from Punjab, Pakistan collected March 2017 till February 2018. The samples were examined with liquid chromatography, with a fluorescence detector. The findings demonstrated that 126 (65.3%) out of 193 samples of animal feed were found positive with AFB1, and 88 (45.6%) samples have levels higher than 5 μg/kg; positive samples are those whose levels of AFM1 ≥ LOD. The highest average amount of AFB1 was found in mustard oil cake meal (25.0 ± 4.5 μg/kg). Out of 278 samples of milk, 134 (48.2%) were found positive with AFM1, and 48 (17.3%) samples have levels of AFM1 higher than the European Union legal limit (i.e., 50 ng/L). The highest mean level of 70.5 ± 10.5 ng/L was found in raw milk of buffalo. The levels of AFM1 in milk from the urban region versus suburb region showed a significant difference (at α 0.05) except sheep milk samples, which presented a significant difference at α 0.01. Samples, 65 (64.4%) out of 140 from the urban region, and 69 (50%) from the suburb region were found positive with AFM1 in milk samples. The amount of AFB1 in animal feed and AFM1 in milk samples are comparatively high and could pose health hazards for local consumers.
aflatoxins (B1 = 52.4; Tot. = 64.2 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Egypt in Italy
aflatoxins (B1 = 9.1 µg/kg – ppb) in organic brown basmati rice from Pakistan in the Netherlands
aflatoxins (B1 = 19.1; Tot. = 19.8 µg/kg – ppb) in chicken masala spice mix from Pakistan in Greece
aflatoxins (B1 = 10.6 µg/kg – ppb) in masala spice mix from Pakistan in Greece
aflatoxins (B1 = 14.1; Tot. = 14.8 µg/kg – ppb) in roasted and salted pistachios in shell from Turkey in Germany
aflatoxins (B1 = 20.9; Tot. = 13.4 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachio kernels from Iran in Germany
aflatoxins (B1 = 18; Tot. = 21.3 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachio kernels from Iran in Germany
aflatoxins (B1 = > 2 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from the United States in Spain
aflatoxins (B1 = 34.2 mg/kg – ppm) in shelled pistachios from Iran, via Hong Kong in Italy
aflatoxins (B1 = 5.4; Tot. = 6.4 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Egypt in Germany
aflatoxins (B1 = 16.4; Tot. = 17.3 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios from Iran in Germany
aflatoxins (B1 = 20; Tot. = 23 µg/kg – ppb) in peanuts from Argentina in the Netherlands
aflatoxins (B1 = 64.7; Tot. = 69.2 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios in shell from Iran in Italy
aflatoxins (B1 = 11.42; Tot. = 15.70 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios from Turkey in Austria
Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Ochratoxin, RASFF, Toxin
aflatoxins (B1 = 5.4; Tot. = 6.2 / B1 = 21; Tot. = 24 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Argentina in the Netherlands
aflatoxins (B1 = 48; Tot. = 53 / B1 = 489.2; Tot. = 562 µg/kg – ppb) in hazelnuts from Georgia in Bulgaria
aflatoxins (B1 = 12.77; Tot. = 13.5 µg/kg – ppb) in dried peppers from India in Spain
aflatoxins (B1 = 3.7 µg/kg – ppb) in peanut butter from the United States in Germany
aflatoxins (B1 = 24.53 µg/kg – ppb) in roasted salted pistachios from Turkey in Germany
Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, RASFF
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