Risk assessment scenarios of children's exposure to aflatoxin M1 residues in different milk types from the Greek market.

Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) was determined in 196 milk samples (conventional, organic and kids milk) from the Greek market during November 2009 to June 2010. AFM1 content was analyzed using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) commercial kit. Aflatoxin M1 was detected in 46.5% of the samples. 46.5% of the samples were found positive for AFM1. The most frequent range of detection was between 5 and 10 ng/l. Based on the EU regulation only 2 milk samples presented AFM1 levels higher than the maximum residue limits. Two different scenarios were used for the determination of hazard index: (a) scenario 1 using only positive (detected AFM1) samples and (b) scenario 2 when missing values where imputed with Limit of Detection (LOD) divided by 2. Significant statistical differences between different milk categories were presented only when the results were imputed with LOD/2 values. Exposure assessment scenarios were developed for ages 1, 3, 5, 7 and 12 and their respective estimated weights and daily milk consumption. Under the worst-case scenario all milk types presented a Hazard Index (HI) less than one. The highest HI values appear in the ages of 1-3.