Occurrence of Aflatoxin M_1 in Some Cheese Types Sold in Erzurum, Turkey

Authors: MUSTAFA GÜRSES, AHMET ERDOĞAN, BÜLENT ÇETİN

Abstract: Sixty-three samples of cheese consisting of 23 White cheeses, 14 Kaşar cheeses, 11 Tulum cheeses, 9 Civil cheeses and 6 Lor cheeses (whey-curd), were analyzed for the occurrence of aflatoxin M_1 (AFM_1) using enzymatic immunoassay. In 28 of 63 samples (44.44%), the presence of AFM_1 was detected in concentrations between 7 ng/kg and 202 ng/kg. The mean levels of AFM_1 were 28.08 ng/kg in White cheeses, 22.80 ng/kg in Kaşar cheeses, 74.05 ng/kg in Tulum cheeses, 12.32 ng/kg in Civil cheeses and 15.95 ng/kg in Lor cheeses.

Keywords: Aflatoxin M_1 (AFM_1), cheese, enzymatic immunoassay (EIA)

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