Processing edible peanut protein concentrates and isolates to inactivate aflatoxins

Abstract and Summary Experiments were conducted to study the efficacy of some oxidizing or other reactive chemicals for destruction of aflatoxins in conjunction with the aqueous extraction process for the production of peanut protein concentrates and/or isolates directly from contaminated raw peanuts. The chemicals tested included acetone, isopropyl alcohol, methylamine, hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide, ammonia gas, and sodium hypochlorite. Among these chemicals, hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide, and sodium hypochlorite showed very effective destruction of aflatoxins during the aqueous extraction process of infected peanuts. However, the use of benzoyl peroxide may pose some difficulties because it is not readily soluble in the aqueous suspensions. It was therefore concluded that aflatoxins can be effectively destroyed during the aqueous processing of peanuts by properly utilizing either sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide to produce either peanut protein concentrates or isolates.