Monitoring and identification of aflatoxins in wheat, gram and maize flours in Bihar state (India).

The occurrence of aflatoxins in some common food commodities: wheat, gram and maize flours is reported. Of the total 416 collections during three years (1987-1989) 162 were recorded to be aflatoxin-positive. The incidence of aflatoxins was maximum in the samples of 1987. Most of the contaminated samples contained aflatoxins at levels above 20 micrograms/kg. The environmental conditions and traditional agronomic and storage practices relating to aflatoxin incidence are discussed.