Survey on aflatoxin contamination in commercially available food in Huzhou City in 2023

ObjectiveTo understand the contamination status of aflatoxin in commercially available food in Huzhou City， and to provide data for the assessment of food safety risks in Huzhou City.MethodsIn 2023， five categories of food were randomly collected from large and medium-sized supermarkets and farmers’ markets in Huzhou City： cereals and their products ［rice， cornmeal （grits）， wheat flour］， vegetable oils （peanut oil， corn oil， soybean oil）， nuts and seeds （peanuts， sunflower seeds， pistachios）， condiments （soy sauce， vinegar， peanut butter， dried chili peppers）， and tea products （green tea， smoked bean tea）. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry （UHPLC-TQ-MS） was used to detect four types of aflatoxins.ResultsThe five categories of food samples collected were all contaminated with aflatoxins to varying degrees， with an overall detection rate of 19.1%. The non-conforming rate for aflatoxin B1 was 1.190%. There was a statistically significant difference in the detection rate of aflatoxin B1 among different types of food （χ²=21.74， P<0.05）. There was also a statistically significant difference in the detection rate of aflatoxin B1 between bulk food and pre-packaged food （P<0.05）. Furthermore， the detection rate of aflatoxin B1 in bulk food collected from different sampling locations showed a statistically significant difference （P<0.05）. Upon further analysis of the detection data for bulk peanuts， there was a statistically significant difference in the detection rate of aflatoxin B1 between raw and cooked bulk peanuts produced in different years （χ²=37.98， P<0.05）.ConclusionAflatoxin contamination is prevalent in commercially available food in Huzhou City， and the contamination status varies greatly among different food items. Overall， the aflatoxin levels remain at safe levels， but some samples， particularly peanuts and peanut products， as well as corn grits， pose a higher potential risk. Relevant departments should pay attention to this issue and strengthen monitoring and regulation to ensure the safety of commercially available food in Huzhou City.