Occurrence of aflatoxins in some Egyptian food crops collected from two coastal regions

Two-hundred-and-forty-one samples representing cereals, legumes, oil seeds and nuts were collected from two coastal regions in Egypt. Mouldy samples were collected from lots stored under different conditions. Forty-eight per cent ((116 samples) of the samples gave bright greenish-yellow fluorescence, whereas 8% (19 samples) contained aflatoxins. Hazel nut, soybean and cottonseed meal samples were free from aflatoxins whilst white corn, yellow corn, peanuts and almonds had relatively higher concentrations of aflatoxins than other crops. Aflatoxin B₁ was present in all contaminated samples whilst G₂ was found only in peanuts. Aflatoxin G₁ was found only in yellow corn, paddy rice and peanut samples. High concentrations of aflatoxins were found in mouldy samples of cereals and legumes which are popular in Egyptian diets. The high concentrations of aflatoxins found in contaminated samples may be due to the method of sampling and to unfavourable storage conditions.