Aflatoxin M1 exposure in a fermented millet-based milk beverage ‘brukina’ and its cancer risk characterization in Greater Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Brukina is a millet based fermented milk product which is consumed as a beverage in Ghana. It is however prone to aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) contamination, which is a serious health challenge for low and middle-income countries in subtropical regions. This study aimed at evaluating AFM1 levels and cancer risks associated with brukina (n = 150) sampled from different locations of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. AFM1 were measured with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) connected to a Fluorescence Detector (FLD).Cancer risk assessments were also conducted using models prescribed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Additives (JECFA). Out of the 150 samples analyzed for AFM1, 80/150 (53%) tested positive between the range 0.00 ± 0.001–3.14 ± 0.77 µg/kg. Cancer risk assessments of AFM1 produced outcomes which ranged between 0.64 and 1.88 ng/kg bw/day, 0.31–9.40, 0.0323, and 1.94 × 10–3–0.06 for cases/100,000 person/yr for Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Hazard Index (H.I), Average Potency, and Cancer Risks respectively for all age categories investigated. It was concluded that the consumption of brukina posed adverse health effects on the majority of the age categories in the different locations of Greater Accra Region since the calculated H.Is were greater than one (> 1). Therefore, contamination of brukina with AFM1 should be considered a high priority in public health and Ghana’s cancer risk management actions