Aflatoxin Contamination of Non-cultivated Fruits in Zambia.

Abstract

Wild fruits are an important food and income source for many households in Zambia. Non-cultivated plants may be as susceptible as crops to aflatoxin contamination. Concentrations of aflatoxins in commonly consumed wild fruits from markets and characteristics of associated aflatoxin-producers need to be determined to assess the aflatoxin risk posed by handling, processing, storage, and consumption. Samples of ( = 22), ( = 7), ( = 17), ( = 17), spp. ( = 10), ( = 9), and ( = 23) were assayed for aflatoxin using lateral-flow immunochromatography from 2016 to 2017. Aflatoxins were above Zambia's regulatory limit (10 μg/kg) in (average = 57 μg/kg), (average = 12 μg/kg), and (average = 11 μg/kg). The L strain morphotype of was the most frequent member of section in market samples, although and fungi with S morphology were also found. All fruits except supported both growth (mean = 3.1 × 10 CFU/g) and aflatoxin production (mean = 35,375 μg/kg) by aflatoxigenic section . Innate resistance to aflatoxin producers was displayed by . For the other fruits, environment and infecting fungi appeared to have the greatest potential to influence aflatoxin concentrations in markets. This is the first report of aflatoxins and aflatoxin-producers on native fruits in Zambia and suggests mitigation is required.