Molecular Detection of Aflatoxin Producing Aspergillus species Isolates in some Chicken Meat Cuts in Gharbiya Governorate, Egypt

Contamination with fungi and their toxins is considered one of the most dangerous hidden pollutants that threaten the health of the consumer. The presence of mycotoxins in various foods has been recorded, despite their apparent safety for human consumption. The current study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of Aspergillus species and aflatoxin producing genes using culture and molecular methods, respectively. A total of 75 samples of chicken cuts, represented by wing, breast, and thigh (25 of each), were randomly collected from various grocery and poultry shops located at Gharbiya governorate, Egypt. Results of culture and isolation techniques revealed the detection of Aspergillus sp. in 36, 48 and 44% of the examined wing, breast and thigh samples, respectively. Moreover, microbiological identification of the isolated strains showed presence of A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. terreus and A. parasiticus in 16, 13.3, 10.6, 1.3 and 1.3% of the total population of the examined samples. Molecular detection of some aflatoxin production regulating genes (OmtA, Nor1 and Ver1) in ten aspergillus sp. isolates revealed their detection in 8/10 (80%), 8/10 (80%) and 7/10 (70%) represented by positive bands at molecular weight of 1024, 400 and 537 bp, respectively. Referring to the recorded results, chicken cuts may possess a great silent hazard to human being under improper good manufacturing practices and inadequate hygienic conditions during handling and storage.