PAKISTAN’S OWN

STORY OF
AFLATOXINS
What Are Aflatoxins?
◦ Aflatoxins are a type of toxic secondary metabolite derived from
polyketides belonging to a family of toxins produced by certain
Aspergillus spp.
◦ The aflatoxin producing fungi, Aspergillus spp. that include
Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, and A. nomius
◦ Aflatoxin infection usually occurs in
1. cereals (maize, sorghum, pearl millet, rice, and wheat)
2. oilseeds (peanut, soybean, sunflower, and cotton)
3. spices (chilies, black pepper, turmeric, coriander, and ginger),
4. Nuts (almond, Brazil nut, pistachio, walnut, and coconut)
5. Yam
6. various milk products
Types of Aflatoxins
◦ There are mainly six different types of aflatoxins-
◦ Aflatoxins-B1(AFB1)
◦ Aflatoxins-B2(AFB2)
◦ Aflatoxin G1(AFG1)
◦ Aflatoxins G2 (AFG2)
◦ Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1)
◦ Aflatoxin M2 (AFM2).
◦ Out of these B1, B2, G1, G2 are found in food crops or
their products, while M1 (Metabolite of B1) and M2 are
found in the animals’ by-products such as dairy products.
◦ Aflatoxin B1 and B2 are produced by A. flavus
◦ Aflatoxin G1 and G2 are synthesized by A. parasiticus and
largely contaminate a wide range of food commodities
Aflatoxin Toxicity
◦ Disorder occurred due to toxicity of aflatoxins is known as aflatoxicosis,
symptomized as food poisoning leading to liver cancer.
◦ Acute poisoning is less common in animals and humans; it occurs only due
to the consumption of very highly contaminated food items frequently.
Symptoms of acute human poisons include
◦ Vomiting
◦ Fatty liver
◦ Accumulation of necrotizing enterocoliticus (necrosis)
◦ Mental stress
◦ Other neurological disorders
◦ Chronic poisoning is caused by consumption of less contaminated food
items for long period of time. Symptoms of chronic poisoning are not
specific. Normally symptoms may include
◦ Weight loss
◦ Reduction in normal weight gain
◦ Reduced immunity
Click icon to add picture Aflatoxins; A
Threat To Food
Safety
Since 1985, the United
States Food and Drug
Administration (USFDA)
has restricted the amount
of aflatoxinss permitted in
food products. The USDA
Grain and Plant Inspection
Service (GPIS) have
implemented a service
laboratory for inspection of
mycotoxins in grains.
Additionally, the Food and
Agricultural Organization
(FAO) and World Health
Organization (WHO) have
recognized many toxins
present in agricultural
products.
Click icon to add picture Aflatoxins; A
Threat To Food
Safety
Since 1985, the United
States Food and Drug
Administration (USFDA)
has restricted the amount
of aflatoxinss permitted in
food products. The USDA
Grain and Plant Inspection
Service (GPIS) have
implemented a service
laboratory for inspection of
mycotoxins in grains.
Additionally, the Food and
Agricultural Organization
(FAO) and World Health
Organization (WHO) have
recognized many toxins
present in agricultural
products.
History Of Aflatoxins
• Turkey “X” disease (May 1961)
• St. Anthony’s Fire (15 August 1951)
• The Tenth Plague of Egypt
• The Writings Of The Dead Sea
Scrolls
• Houses of Mildew
Causes Of Aflatoxins In Pakistan
◦ Climate of maxi-mum Pakistani cultivate able area is warm and humid, so Pakistani foods are more susceptible to
aflatoxins production, and the condition is increasing due to inappropriate agronomic practices of farmers,
processers and in adequate facilities of storage. Due to high-level contamination of aflatoxins, export of chilies and
rice from Pakistan is badly affected as Pakistan is one of the biggest exporters of these two commodities in the
world. So it is an alarming situation for Pakistan’s economy. Some causes of aflatoxin contamination are
◦ Poor post-harvest techniques
◦ Improper handling
◦ Lack of novel food processing and preservation technologies
◦ Tropical conditions
◦ Temperature
◦ Water activity
◦ Moisture contents
◦ Initial contamination load
◦ Poor agricultural practices
Wheat ◦ Aflatoxin is found in a variety of cereals i.e.,
wheat, maize, rice, and barley reported from
different parts of Punjab, Pakistan as a serious
problem to local consumers.
◦ Wheat is staple food in Pakistan with annual
production of 24 million ton on average that is
sufficient for domestic consumption. Improper
conditions of storage environment in wheat
godown i.e., high humidity and improper
ventilation systems are major causes of
Aspergillus growth, ultimately causing the
production of aflatoxins.
◦ Average mean value of aflatoxins in wheat has
been reported as 5.2 µg/Kg.
Animal Feed ◦ Milk producing animals in Pakistan are
usually fed on fodder, cotton seed cake,
threshed wheat straw, wheat bran, soybean
and paddy straw, rather than on prepared
feed.
◦ Aflatoxins have also been reported in
milk, as milk animals feeding on
contaminated feed ingest aflatoxins i.e.
B1, B2, G1 and G2, which are bio-
transformed into another type of aflatoxins
i.e. M1 and M2 in digestive tract of
animals, becoming part of milk and
ultimately reaching into the humans,
consuming such milk.
Nuts and Dry Fruits
◦ Many different studies showed very high level of aflatoxins
contamination in all these products. For example the
percentage of the total samples detected:
◦ Dried apricot (20%)
◦ Dates (10%)
◦ Dried figs (50%)
◦ Dried mulberries (26%)
◦ Raisins (20%)
◦ Apricot kernels (26%)
◦ Almonds without shell (30%)
◦ Walnuts with shell (40%)
◦ Walnuts without shell (70%)
◦ Peanuts with shell (40%)
Chilies
◦ Pakistan is a large exporter of chili peppers by
contributing 1.5 % of total gross domestic
products. Pakistan ranks 6th position
worldwide in export of chilies. Aflatoxin has
been reported in various varieties of chilies in
Pakistan especially in red chilies.
Contamination level is found alarming with
respect to food safety, as chilies are used as
main food ingredient in number of recopies for
typical taste and flavor. Chilies production and
export in Pakistan may be highly affected by
aflatoxin contamination. A number of studies
have reported the high level contamination of
aflatoxins in chilies. On average 30% of the
chilies samples are found contaminated with
average mean value of 30 ug/kg, which is six
fold higher than the EU permissible limits.
Management Strategies In Pakistan
◦ AflaPak
◦ The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has pioneered the biological control of aflatoxins in the form
of a biological control product. Depending on the country and target crop, the name differs but is
commonly known as AflasafeTM and Afla-GuardTM. This technology has been transferred to Pakistan and is
trademarked as AflaPak.
◦ CABI has partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Agricultural Research
Centre (NARC) and Rafhan Maize Products Co. Ltd, Pakistan, a food company that processes thousands of
tons of corn each year to produce food products and ingredients, to form a working group that will help to
implement this technology and to make AflaPakTM a standard product used by a range of producers and on
multiple crops.
◦ The U.S. company, Ingredion, and its Pakistani subsidiary, Rafhan Maize, have worked with USDA and
CABI to introduce USDA’s aflatoxin biocontrol technology to Pakistan, which is in the process of being
registered as the first biocontrol agent in Pakistan.
NARC
◦ To address the problem of aflatoxin contamination, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA),
introduced its biological control technology and its Pakistani subsidiary is Rafhan Maize. Technical
support is being provided by CABI and the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) in Pakistan.
With Rafhan Maize, USDA has developed a bio-control product, called AflaPak, formulated specifically
to reduce aflatoxin in maize grown in Pakistan. AflaPak uses safe non-aflatoxin producing strains of the
fungus (Aspergillus flavus) to outcompete the deadlier aflatoxin producing strains. Farmers apply AflaPa
to their plants during the flowering stage and before the toxic fungus strains can grow and colonize the
maize. The Aflatoxin Control Laboratory at Crop Diseases Research Institute (CDRI), NARC has been
established in collaboration with CBI financed by USDA.
Conclusion
◦ Aflatoxins contamination in our local foods is posing a serious threat to Pakistani population resulting in
in- crease of several chronic and acute diseases. The situation is alarming for policy makers and masses
too. - In Pakistan’s local environmental conditions, it is very difficult to prevent the contamination of
aflatoxigenic fungi. However, creating awareness among different stakeholders like farmers, processors,
exporters and consumers as well may be helpful to combat the situation.
◦ Several physical, chemical and biological methods for the control of aflatoxins in different foods have
been reported internationally.Adoption of good agricultural practices and proper pre-harvest and post-
harvest technologies can play an imperative role. Food hygiene trainings, awareness of food safety, and
implementation of strict rules and regulations with changing food safety perspectives might be helpful to
curtail the contamination of aflatoxins in Pakistani foods. Whereas the newest and most effective
solution to this problem is AflaPak which is a bio-control agent.