Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in parmesan cheese consumed in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) may occur in milk and milk products, resulting from the ingestion of aflatoxin B1 in feedstuffs by dairy cow. A total of 88 samples of Parmesan cheese marketed in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, from March 2004 to December 2004, were analyzed for AFM1 by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a fluorescence detector following sample clean-up using immunoaffinity columns. AFM1 was detected in 40 of the 88 samples (46.4%). However, only two samples among these were contaminated at a level above the maximum permissible limit (250 ng kg-1) accepted by European Union for AFM1. No AFM1 maximum tolerance limit in cheese has been established in Brazil.