Evaluation of aflatoxin B1 contamination in sesame and sunflower seeds and oils supplied in Shahrekord County using ELISA method

Subject Areas : Food Hygiene

Samaneh Fathi ¹ , Ebrahim rahimi ²

1 -
2 - Professor, Department of Food Hygiene, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Shahrekord, Iran.

Received: 2025-05-11 Accepted : 2025-11-29 Published : 2025-09-21

Keywords: Aflatoxin B1, Oil, Food Safety, Shahrekord,

Abstract :

Aflatoxin contamination of edible oils has a very destructive effect on human health due to its toxic effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate aflatoxin B1 contamination in sesame and sunflower seeds and oils supplied in Shahrekord city using ELISA method. 100 samples including 25 sunflower oil samples, 25 sesame oil samples, 25 sunflower seed samples and 25 sunflower oil samples were randomly sampled from Shahrekord market and transferred to the laboratory. The samples were evaluated using ELISA method. The results showed that all samples including sunflower and sesame oil and seeds sampled in Shahrekord city were contaminated with aflatoxin B1, but none of the contaminations exceeded the limits set by the Iranian national standard. Of the 100 sunflower and sesame oil and seed samples sampled, 11 samples (11%) were less than 1 µ/kg, 13 samples (13%) were in the range of 1 to 2 µ/kg, 59 samples (59%) were in the range of 2 to 4 µ/kg, and 17 samples (17%) were in the range of 4 to 5 µ/kg contaminated with aflatoxin B1. The results of the present study showed that the consumption of sunflower and sesame oil and seeds supplied in Shahrekord city cannot pose any worrying risks to the health of the consumer.

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