Occurrence of aflatoxin M^sub 1^ in UHT milk and infant formula samples consumed in Burdur, Turkey

Aflatoxins are toxic fungal metabolites found in foods and feeds. Aflatoxin M^sub 1^ (AFM^sub 1^), a metabolite of the potent carcinogen aflatoxin B^sub 1^ (AFB^sub 1^), occurs in milk from animals consuming feed contaminated with AFB^sub 1^. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and levels of AFM^sub 1^ in ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk and infant formula samples consumed in Burdur City. During 2011, 41 samples of UHT milk and 33 samples of infant formula were randomly collected from different supermarkets and drug stores. The occurrence and contamination levels of AFM^sub 1^ in the samples were investigated using the competitive enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) method. AFM^sub 1^ was detected in 30 samples (73.2 %) in concentrations ranging from 6.42 to 71.33 ng/L (mean level, 17.76 ng/L). Altogether, only three (7.3 %) samples of UHT milk were contaminated at levels above the Turkish legal limit (50 ng/L). However, AFM^sub 1^ was not detected in all infant formula samples. It is concluded that despite the widespread occurrence of AFM^sub 1^ in UHT milk samples, the contamination levels were not serious for public health.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]