A UK retail survey of aflatoxins in herbs and spices and their fate during cooking.

A survey of aflatoxins in herbs and spices has been carried out and cooking experiments conducted to assess the stability of aflatoxin in spice sauces. Of 157 retail samples which included curry powders, pepper, cayenne pepper, chilli, paprika, ginger, cinnamon and coriander, nearly 95% of samples contained below 10 micrograms/kg total aflatoxins and only nine samples had higher levels. The highest concentration in a retail sample was 48 micrograms/kg in a chilli powder. In addition to retail sampling, 14 consignments of whole chilli and chilli powder were sampled at the port of entry. Only two samples, both chilli powder, were above 10 micrograms/kg; containing 35 and 51 micrograms/kg total aflatoxins. Cooking experiments showed that aflatoxin levels in spiced sauces are not reduced by domestic cooking with either microwave or conventional gas oven heating.