Occurrence of Aflatoxin M(1) in Dairy Products in Southern Italy

A screening survey of the presence of aflatoxin M(1) (AFM(1)) was carried out on 265 samples of cheese made from cow, buffalo, goat, sheep, sheep-goat milk collected in the Apulia region (Southern Italy). Selected samples included unripened, medium and long-term ripened cheeses. AFM(1) was found in 16.6% of the analyzed samples. The highest positive incidence was for medium and long-term ripened cheeses, especially those made from sheep-goat milk, while buffalo cheeses tested consistently negative. Our results show that the level of contamination by AFM(1) in dairy products from Apulia Region are lower than in other Italian and European regions. Moreover, it is important to underline that a common European norm concerning the AFM(1) threshold limits for dairy products is still lacking.