Comparative Analysis of Fumonisin Contamination and Infant Dietary Exposure in Kongwa District, Tanzania: A Sub-Study Within a Two-Arm Cluster-Randomized Trial

In central Tanzania, maize is frequently consumed in many households as a staple food. Reliance on maize-based complementary foods for infants and young children puts them at risk of Fumonisin (FUM) exposure. This observational study explores whether the provision of low-aflatoxin porridge flour as part of an intervention within a larger cluster randomized control trial, Mycotoxin Mitigation Trial (MMT), had any effect on the intake and exposure to FUM in complementary foods consumed by children aged 12 to 13 months. Sampling was done for randomly selected 12-13-month-old children from 20 of the 52 trial clusters within the two arms of MMT. The households within the intervention arm of the MMT were provided with low aflatoxin blended flour, 4 parts maize, and 1 part ground nuts to feed the index child, every month for 12 months. The Standard of Care (SoC) households were educated on preparing the 4:1 blended flour from locally produced maize and groundnuts. Blended and maize flours consumed by the index child in the past 24 hours were collected for FUM analysis. The samples were analyzed using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. Data analysis was done through STATA version 16 software at a 5% significance level. The levels of FUM in blended flour samples were not significantly different between the intervention and the SoC arm p > 0.05. Similarly, differences existed in FUM intake and exposure through blended flour between arms (p>0.05). There were no significant differences in FUM intake and exposure between arms from maize (p>0.05). This study suggests that the provision of low-aflatoxin flour to households in the intervention arm did not impact differences in intake and exposure to FUM across the two arms.