Seasonal investigation of aflatoxin M1 level in Afyon tulum cheese offered for consumption

Tulum cheese is the most produced and fondly consumed type of cheese after white cheese and kasar cheese in our country. Due to the feeding of dairy animals with feeds containing aflatoxin, the milk obtained may contain AFM1. The risk of AFM1 continues in cheeses produced with milk containing AFM1. Fort his reason the presence and level of Aflatoxin M1 in Afyon tulum cheese samples collected between December 2019 and November 2020 was investigated. A total of 80 tulum cheese samples 40 of which were in autumn-winter season and 40 in the spring-summer season belonging to different production and sales locations were collected. Samples were kept at -20°C until analysis. All samples were then analyzed using a commericial ELISA tes kit (Aflatoxin M1). As a result Aflatoxin M1 was determined as 0,017 ug/kg in spring-summer samples and 0,041 ug/kg in autumn-winter samples. AFM1 was not detected above the TGK limit (0,05 μg/kg) in the Tulum cheese samples analyzed.As a result, it is recommended to use AFM1free milk in the production of mlk and dairy products, not to use feeds containing mycotoxin in feeding dairy animals, and to comply with the production and storage conditions in a way to prevent the formation of toxins in these feeds.