Effect of Post-Harvest Management on Aspergillus flavus Growth and Aflatoxin Contamination of Stored Hazelnuts

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is a major crop in the Caucasus region, but its safety is often threatened by Aspergillus flavus colonization and aflatoxin (AF) contamination. Although AFs are strictly regulated in the EU, the influence of post-harvest practices on fungal persistence and AF accumulation remains poorly defined. A three-year study was conducted to evaluate the effects of drying protocols, storage temperature, and conservation practices on fungal growth and AF occurrence in hazelnuts from three producing regions of Azerbaijan. Freshly harvested nuts were subjected to two drying regimes: good drying (sun-exposed, mixed, protected from rewetting) and bad drying (shaded, piled, rewetted). After drying, samples were stored at cold (8–10 °C) or room temperature (18–22 °C). Fungal prevalence was determined by CFU counts with morphological and qPCR identification of Aspergillus section Flavi. AFs were quantified by HPLC, and water activity (aw) was monitored during storage. Drying emerged as the decisive factor: bad drying consistently resulted in markedly higher fungal loads for A. section Flavi, with mean counts up to 1.5 × 102 CFU/g, compared with 2.1 × 101 CFU/g under good drying, representing a 7-fold increase. In contrast, storage temperature and shell condition had negligible effects when nuts were properly dried. Aflatoxins were consistently below the 5 µg/kg EU limit for AFB1 in traced and well-dried samples, whereas market samples occasionally exhibited AFB1 concentrations >450 µg/kg. These findings highlight drying efficiency as the key determinant of fungal persistence and AF risk in hazelnut post-harvest management.