Survey of aflatoxin contamination in peanut products in Taiwan from 1997 to 2011

Aflatoxins are toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic compounds that contaminate various types of foods and feedstuffs. The aflatoxin levels in various kinds of peanut products in Taiwan were surveyed during the recent decade. A total of 1827 commercial peanut products were collected from different regions of Taiwan from 1997 to 2011. The samples were cleaned by immunoaffinity columns and analyzed for aflatoxins B 1 , B 2 , G 1 , and G 2 by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Aflatoxins were detected in 32.7% of samples with levels ranging from 0.2 μg/kg to 513.4 μg/kg. Peanut butter had the highest aflatoxin-positive incidence, followed by peanut flour, peanut candy, rice syrup, and peanuts. In addition, 6.8% of the samples had total aflatoxin concentrations (i.e., the sum of B 1 + B 2 + G 1 + G 2 ) that were higher than the Taiwan regulatory limit of 15 μg/kg. Among the aflatoxin-positive samples, aflatoxin B 1 had the highest frequency of detection, followed by aflatoxin B 2 , aflatoxin G 2 , and aflatoxin G 1 . This longterm survey provides valuable information on aflatoxin contamination in peanut products marketed in Taiwan.