Aflatoxin contamination of food and food products in Thailand: an overview.

This paper presents an overview of reports of aflatoxin contamination in various foods and products, which have been carried out in Thailand between 1967-2001. Thirteen available international and local reports (n=3,206 samples) focused on type of food, season and geographic areas, and have been collected for statistical analysis. The accumulated data showed 1,248 (38.9%) of 3,206 samples were highly contaminated with aflatoxin. Over half (728) of the contaminated samples (1,248) were peanuts, milk, and poultry. In addition, analysis of the number of aflatoxin-contaminated samples in the above categaries, which were tested by chi-square test, indicated that there was a significant difference between the type of food and seasonal influence (p<0.05), but not geographical influence (p>0.05). Furthermore, detection methods for aflatoxin contamination, based on fundamental techniques, have been also reviewed. However, little research has been conducted on comparisons of the seasonal and geographical influences on aflatoxin contamination. Further study should be directed at these influences in larger samples.