Low Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Traditional Peanut Butter is Associated with Risk for Consumers

Aims: The aim of this study was to conduct a quantitative risk assessment linked to Aflatoxin B1 and Ochratoxin A exposure through peanut butter consumption by population of Abidjan District (Côte d’Ivoire).

Study Design: Sampling of peanut butter from markets, analysis of peanut butters samples, consumption survey and quantitative risk assessment.

Place and Duration of Study: University of Nangui Abrogoua, Abidjan (March to August 2014) and University of Ghent, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Belgium (September to December 2016).

Methodology: 45 composite samples of peanut butter from 225 total samples were analyzed by HPLC to determine the AFB1 and OTA contents. 450 households were randomly selected and a questionnaire was used to assess the uses of peanut butter, the quantities used for sauce making and the frequency of peanut butter sauce consumption. A probabilistic quantitative risk assessment based on Monte Carlo simulation was carried out to determine the exposure associated with the AFB1 and OTA occurrence.

Results: The values of AFB1 and OTA contents were in the range of 1.522-1.641 ppb. Peanut butter is mainly used for preparation of sauces (84.20 ± 9.38%) and more than half of the consumers of peanut butter sauce are children (59 to 78 %). The serving size is about 750 g considering a frequency of 2 times consumption per week (55%). For the upper bond scenario, the exposure value for AFB1 was 2.193 ng/kg bw/day while that of OTA was 2.012 ng/kg bw/day for the 99.0th percentile of consumers. Overall, 10.1-15.6% of the population might be exposed to AFB1 chronic toxicity.

Conclusion: This study highlighted a relatively high exposure to AFB1 in peanut butter sauce. Therefore there is a need to implement strategies based on Good Agricultural and Good Hygiene Practices for AFB1 and OTA mitigation along the peanut butter chain in Ivory Coast.