Beware, aflatoxin is deadly

Never take aflatoxins for granted.  Worldwide, these are known to be deadly.

Helen R. Calica of the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (BPRE), said aflatoxins are widely known for their acute and chronic toxicity in animals. Aflatoxins, which are molds, have been reported to produce acute liver damage, liver cirrhosis, stimulation of tumors, and other genetic effects in animals and possibly in humans.

The first effect of aflatoxins was realized in 1960 after the death of 100,000 young turkeys in England. A high incidence of liver disease in ducklings in Kenya was also found. Scientists soon established that the causes of these problems were the common molds Aspergillus flavus  and Aspergillus parasiticus.

In 1974, an outbreak of hepatitis due to aflatoxins affected 400 individuals in India, resulting in the death of 100 or one-fifth of the affected individuals, the BPRE expert added. The outbreak was traced to corn heavily contaminated with Aspergillus flavus.

Aflatoxins were also suspected as the cause of Reyes’ syndrome, a common cause of death of South East Asian children.  In Czechoslovakia and New Zealand, aflatoxins were also found during the autopsy in the livers of children who have died from Reyes’ syndrome.

Likewise, 125 Kenyans died in 2004 after eating corn contaminated with aflatoxins. Nearly 200 others were treated after eating similar material. The deaths were associated with homegrown corn that were not properly dried before storage. 

High moisture in the grains leads to aflatoxin formation, said Dr. Rene Sumaoang, a microbiologist and the president of Novatech Agri-Food Industries. He said an aflatoxin content of 10 parts per billion makes corn, soybean, copra and other products not suitable for animal feeds.

Calica said the aflatoxin problem remains in developing countries. All over the world, especially in the Philippines, the scenario is alarming because of the prevailing high temperature and relative humidity, which favor fungal growth, the Food and Agriculture Organization reported.  Moreover, heavy rains coincide with the peak harvest months of staple cereals, particularly corn.  – Sosimo Ma. Pablico