Aflatoxin occurrence in nuts and commercial nutty products in Malaysia

A total of 196 nuts and their products marketed in Penang, Malaysia were assessed for aflatoxins using a monitoring scheme consisting of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for rapid screening and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for quantification and confirmation. Thirty two out of 196 samples (16.3%): six raw groundnuts shelled, two roasted groundnut in shell, three roasted groundnut shelled, one walnut, four coated nut products, two peanut cakes (gung tang), 3 pounded groundnuts, one peanut slice, seven peanut butters, one bakery product and two confectionery were contaminated with aflatoxins, ranging in levels from 16.6 μg/kg up to 711 μg/kg (mean 17.2–350 μg/kg) for total aflatoxins.