A review of aflatoxin contamination in foods and beverages in Uganda.

Abstract

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites that if ingested can cause a variety of adverse effects on humans. Aflatoxins are a form of mycotoxins that are cancer genic compounds produced predominantly by certain strains of the Aspergillus genus. They have immunosuppressive, mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic effects, especially on the liver. Aflatoxin contamination of agricultural produce poses a considerable risk to human health. The infection of these crops especially barley, sorghum, and cassava for making beers and malwa respectively by aflatoxicogenic fungi and hence contamination with aflatoxins generally higher. AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, AFM1 and AFM2 are the most common types of aflatoxin. Several researches show that AFB1 is the most common aflatoxin in the world from most commodities at a very much higher level. This indicates that in a lot of developing countries, people are at danger of aflatoxin contamination. Lack of awareness on aflatoxin contamination increases the risk of damage to human. A variety of physical, chemical and biological methods have been developed for decontamination and control of aflatoxins from contaminated foods. This study review is aimed at reviewing the prevalence of aflatoxins in beers that has not been realized before and are manufactured from barley, and malwa from cassava through the process of fermentation which provides a suitable environment for aflatoxin growth up to the time of consumption.