Aflasafe efficacy in the mitigation of aflatoxin in The Gambia Ebrima AA Jallow 1,2 , Musa Bah 2 , Faye Manneh 2 1 National Agricultural Research Institute(NARI), The Gambia, 2 University of The Gambia, Gambia Aflatoxin are secondary metabolites of fungi belonging to several Aspergillus species . Unlike bacteria toxins that produce symptoms within a few hours, aflatoxin are low molecular weight compounds that do not produce immediate symptoms when ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin (Viegas et al., 2012) but could have adverse long-term health effects and economic barriers (Jallow et al., 2021). Aflasafe, a recently developed bio- control product from non-toxigenic (atoxigenic) strains of Aspergillus flavus to mitigate aflatoxin (Bandyopadhyay et al., 2016). Aflasafe operates by out-competing and overshadowing its toxigenic cousin (toxigenic) in the field. The competitive exclusion continues even during storage that continue to stay with the crop to protect it against contamination after harvest and decreased risk of aflatoxin contamination along the value chain (Atehnkeng et al. , 2014). This study compares the efficacy of aflasafe in farms where the products is applied against farms without aflasafe. Of the 210 samples collected nationwide, 150 were of farms where the aflasafe was applied and 60 from non-aflasafe field or control and analyzed for aflatoxin contamination level using a Vicam. The aflasafe samples recorded a mean aflatoxin level of 4.83 ppb (+_5.37). NBR recorded the lowest mean 2.83 ppb while CRR/S 7.44 the highest contamination mean 7.4ppb. Meanwhile the non-aflasafe samples recorded a slight higher mean of aflatoxin level 6.58 ppb (+_5.3). URR recorded the lowest mean 4.99 ppb while CRR/N had the highest contamination mean 8.32 ppb. A high subsidiary and easy access could be employed to convince farmers to adopt the aflasafe product since both applied and non-applied samples all fall under the same maximum acceptable limited of 15 ppb of codex alimentarius. References 1. Atehnkeng, J., Ojiambo, P.S., Cotty, P.J. and Bandyopadhyay, R., (2014). Field efficacy of a mixture of atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus link: Fr vegetative compatibility groups in preventing aflatoxin contamination in maize ( Zea mays L .). Biological Control 72: 62-70. 2. Viegas S, Veiga L, Malta-Vacas J, Sabino J, Figueredo R, Almeida P, (2012). Occupational exposure to aflatoxin (AFB 1 ) in poultry production. J Toxicol Environ Health Part A. 2012;75:1330–40 3. Jallow EAA, Jarju M, Oyelakin O, Jallow DB, Mendy B. (2021). Evaluation of aflatoxin B1 contamination of peanut butter in The Gambia. African Journal of Food Science 15(12):360-366. 4. Bandyopadhyay, R., Ortega-Beltran, A., Akande, A., Mutegi, C., Atehnkeng, J., Kaptoge, L., … Cotty, P.J. (2016). Biological control of aflatoxins in Africa: Current status and potential challenges in the face of climate change. World Mycotoxin Journal, 9(5), 771-789.
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