Aflatoxin-producing potential of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus isolated from samples of smoked-dried meat.

Over a period of three years 420 samples of various smoke-dried meat products, collected from individual households in different region of Croatia were analysed for the presence of aflatoxigenic strains of the Aspergillus flavus group. Strains of A. flavus and A. parasiticus were present in 17.8% of the samples, and aflatoxin-producing ability was tested in 75 strains. In relation to sequential method of aflatoxin detection, 5 of 8 isolates were found in the first step (fluorescence in aflatoxin-producing ability medium--APA) and all of them in the second step (extraction method from syntheses on moist shredded wheat--SW). A. flavus strains produced mainly aflatoxin B1, and had various levels of toxigenicity (1.4-3.12 mg/kg). Some strains of A. parasiticus produced all four aflatoxins B1 B2 G1 G2, while the other ones produced AF B1 + G1 only, with concentrations of aflatoxins from 0.1 to 450 mg/kg.