Occurrence of aflatoxins B 1 and M 1 in milk powder and UHT consumed in the city of Assomada (Cape Verde Islands) and southern Brazil

Abstract The occurrence of aflatoxins M 1 (AFLAM 1 ) and B 1 (AFLAB 1 ) was evaluated in 112 milk samples (whole, skimmed, semi-skimmed—liquids and powders), collected at a local commercial establishment in southern Brazil and Assomada City, Cape Verde. AFLAM 1 and AFLAB 1 were determined by using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. For the 62 milk samples from 41 supermarkets in the city of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, 68% were contaminated by AFLAM 1 (range, 40–3670 ng L −1 ) and 16% were contaminated by AFLAB 1 (range, 40–600 ng L −1 ), with contamination found only in liquid milk. Among the 50 samples from Assomada City, AFLAM 1 was detected in 76% of the samples (range, 32–2896 ng L −1 ), at values below the current Brazilian legislation for the maximum permitted level in milk powder (5000 ng L −1 ) but higher than that recommended by the European Commission.