Investigating the presence of aflatoxin m1 by elisa method in kashar and cream cheeses sold in retail market in Aydin and İzmir provinces

Investigating The Presence of Aflatoxin M1 by ELISA Method in Kashar and Cream Cheeses Sold in Retail Market in Aydın and İzmir ProvincesAflatoxins are toxic metabolites produced by a variety of molds such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Aflatoxins were classified as Group 1 carcinogens in 1993by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer. Crops may be contaminated by one or more of the four following sub-types of aflatoxin: B1, B2, G1 and G2. While the other sub-types of aflatoxin present a significant danger at high concentration levels, aflatoxin B1 is the most toxic and frequently detected form. Aflatoxin M1 is a hidroxilated derivative of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), which occurs in the milk of lactating animals. It is estimated that approximately 1 to 3% of the AFB1 initially present in animal foodstuff appears as AFM1 in milk. The presence of aflatoxin in cheese can be due to the contamination of AFM1 in raw milk as a consequence of the carry over of AFM1 from contaminated dairy cow feed to milk.In this study the total 90 cheese samples (45 kashar cheese, 45 cream cheese) were examined in terms of AFM1. The AFM1 content and concentrations of the samples were researched by competitive ELISA method. According to Turkish Food Codex limit (250 ng/kg), the sample incidence exceeding the acceptable limits were 44.4 % kashar cheese and 40 % cream cheese samples, respectively. As understood from these results, high AFM1 level determined in some cheese types is an important problem threatening the public health in Turkey.