Aflatoxins in randomly selected groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) and its products from some local markets across Ghana: Human risk assessment and monitoring

A random assessment and human risk analysis were conducted on 80 groundnut pastes and raw groundnuts from some local markets across the different agroecological zones of Ghana. Total aflatoxins (AFtotal) and aflatoxins (AFB(1), AFB(2), AFG(1), and AFG(2)) were analyzed using the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. Out of 80 samples investigated, 49 (61.25 %) tested positive for AFB(1) and ranged from 0.38 ± 0.04–230.21 ± 22.14 μg/kg. The same proportion was recorded for total aflatoxins (AF(total)) and ranged between 0.38 ± 0.02–270.51 ± 23.14 μg/kg. Limits of AFB(1) and total aflatoxins (AFtotal) for the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) (5 and 10 μg/kg) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2 and 4 μg/kg), were used as checks. A total of 33 (41.25 %) samples were above the limits for both. Risk assessments recorded for Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Margin of Exposure (MOE), potency, cancer risk, and population risks ranged 0.087−0.380 μg/Kg.bw/day, 1052.630–4597.700, 0−0.00396 ng Aflatoxins kg(−1)bwday(−1) and, 1.5 × 10(−3) - 7.9 × 10(-4) respectively for total aflatoxins. While for aflatoxins B(1) (AFB(1)), ranges of values of 0.068−0.300 μg/Kg.bw/day, 1333.33–5882.35, 0−0.00396 ng aflatoxins kg/bw/day and, 1.19 × 10(−3) - 6.34 × 10(-4) corresponded for Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Margin of Exposure (MOE), potency, cancer risk, and population risk respectively. There were risks of adverse health effects involved in the consumption of groundnuts for all age groups investigated since MOE values were all below 10,000.