Persistence of aflatoxins during traditional steeping and fermentation of maize in Ghana

Abstract

The occurrence of aflatoxins in fermented maize dough and "Ga Kenkey" (an end product of maize dough fermentation) from some major processing sites and markets in Accra was investigated. Experiments were then conducted to study the fate of aflatoxins Bl and B2 durinq steeping and spontaneous fermentation under laboratory conditions in four lots of naturally contaminated maize. Total aflatoxin levels in fermented maize doughs and kenkey samples ranged from none detected to 312ug kgl. Of the thirty samples analysed, seventeen had total ,aflatoxin levels above 30ug kg-1, the FAO /WHO maximum permissible 1eve1. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed that not only did aflatoxin persist throughout the steeping and fermentation procedures but there were significant increases in their levels during the first 48 hours of fermentation. The results suggest that the traditional steeping and spontaneous fermentation procedure for maize currently used in Ghana may not be effective in aflatoxins B₁ and B₂ destruction