Microbial and Aflatoxins Analysis of Selected Cereal Flours Processed and Sold in Abakaliki Metropolis

Aflatoxins are very potent mycotoxins produce by molds. Molds are very common pre-harvest and post harvest contaminant of cereals/cereal products. Despite improved handling, processing and storage of cereals, aflatoxins still remain a major problem in the cereal processing industry causing both health hazards and economic losses. Therefore, some researchers have suggested that in order to avoid the toxicity, the levels of aflatoxins and similar toxic compounds in foodstuffs have to be monitored closely, and be kept under control continuously. Otherwise, related health effects like acute and chronic intoxications, and even deaths, will still be an issue. Therefore, in this research the microbial and total aflatoxins analysis of selected cereal flours processed and sold in Abakaliki metropolis was carried out. A total of four cereal samples (maize, millet, sorghum and wheat) were studied. The total aflatoxins were analyzed using highly sensitive competitive Enzyme Link Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) reader. The cereal samples were also analyzed for total fungal count using digital colony counting machine (CCM China). The result showed that all the cereal flours (wheat, sorghum, millet and maize) analyzed were heavily contaminated with fungal cells. The flours also contain unacceptable levels of aflatoxins. The total aflatoxins were above the minimum acceptable limits (10 ppm) according to National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The millet and sorghum have the highest fungal and total aflatoxins concentrations while the wheat flour has the lowest fungal and total aflatoxins concentrations. There were significant difference (p<0.05) among the total aflatoxins level of the different cereal flours. The research also revealed that flours have high moisture content. It is therefore recommended that a more improved process line be put in place to ensure that all cereal flours sold in Abakaliki are produced using Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).