Mycotoxin contamination of home-grown maize in rural northern South Africa (Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces)

• Published in: Food additives & contaminants Part B, Surveillance communications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 38 - 45
• Main Authors: Mngqawa, P., Shephard, G.S., Green, I.R., Ngobeni, S.H., de Rijk, T.C., Katerere, D.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 02.01.2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: aflatoxins; Agriculture; BU Contaminanten & Toxines; BU Contaminants & Toxins; Chromatography; Corn; Environmental Pollutants - chemistry; Food Analysis; Food Contamination; Food contamination & poisoning; Food Storage; fumonisins; Humans; liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS); Maize; Mass spectrometry; multi-mycotoxin; Mycotoxins - chemistry; RIKILT - Business unit Contaminanten & Toxines; RIKILT - Business unit Contaminants & Toxins; South Africa; subsistence farmers; Toxins; Zea mays; Zea mays - chemistry; aflatoxins; Maize; multi-mycotoxin; liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS); fumonisins; subsistence farmers
• ISSN: 1939-3210; 1939-3229
• DOI: 10.1080/19393210.2015.1121928

The aim of this study was to assess mycotoxin contamination of crops grown by rural subsistence farmers over two seasons (2011 and 2012) in two districts, Vhembe District Municipality (VDM, Limpopo Province) and Gert Sibande District Municiality (GSDM, Mpumalanga Province), in northern South Africa and to evaluate its impact on farmers' productivity and human and animal health. A total of 114 maize samples were collected from 39 households over the two seasons and were analysed using a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry mycotoxins method. Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) occurrence ranged from 1 to 133 µg kg −1 in VDM while AFB 1 levels in GSDM were less than 1.0 µg kg −1 in all maize samples. Fumonisin B 1 levels ranged from 12 to 8514 µg kg −1 (VDM) and 11-18924 µg kg −1 (GSDM) in 92% and 47% positive samples, respectively, over both seasons. Natural occurrence and contamination with both fumonisins and aflatoxins in stored home-grown maize from VDM was significantly (p < 0.0001) higher than from GSDM over both seasons.