Occurrence of Aflatoxin in Ready-To-Eat Roasted Snacks Obtained from Port Harcourt and Owerri, Nigeria

Aims: Microbial infestation of nuts and dried foods with the resultant production of aflatoxin is a global challenge to human health. This study aims to ascertain the safety of vended ready-to-eat cashews, groundnut and breadfruit. Study Design: This work is based on a completely randomized design with two replications and the average values calculated for the mean comparison. Place and Duration of Study: Imadavistic Laboratory, Port Harcourt and the Department of Biotechnology, Federal Institute of industrial Research, Oshodi, Nigeria, between January and November, 2022. Methodology: Forty samples purchased randomly were examined for proximate composition, microbial safety and presence of aflatoxins using standard conventional and molecular methods. Results: The respective mean percentage proximate compositions for groundnut, cashew and breadfruit were: protein (33.1±0.1, 14.9±0.3, 19.7±2.0), Carbohydrate (10.7±0.8, 16.5±2.2, 38.2±0.6), lipid (40.1±2.5, 34.3±1.3, 12.3±0.6), ash (1.8±0.1, 26.9±1.3,1.8±0.1), fiber (7.2±1.5, 20.3±0.6, 26.9±1.3) and moisture (7.0±0.1, 4.0±0.5, 7.8±1.6). Mycological count for groundnut, cashew and breadfruit ranged from 17 to 33; 5 to 17 and 2 to 17 log10 cfu/g, respectively. The mycological studies revealed that there were Aspergillus spp., Candida albicans, Mucor sp., Rhizopus sp., Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Aflatoxigenicity results reveal that 31.3% (10 of 32) of the fungi identified were able to produce aflatoxin and they were principally Aspergillus flavus. The range of aflatoxin in the samples was 6.96362 µg/kg of aflatoxin B1 in breadfruit obtained from Oji and Ekeonuwa to 1.07668 µg/kg of aflatoxin B2 obtained in cashew nuts from Rumokoro and Choba. Conclusion: The presence of aflatoxins, though within acceptable doses, underscores the need for proper processing of these roasted snacks.