Occurrence of aflatoxins B1 and M1 in milk powder and UHT consumed in the city of Assomada (Cape Verde Islands) and southern Brazil

The occurrence of aflatoxins M1 (AFLAM1) and B1 (AFLAB1) was evaluated in 112 milk samples (whole, skimmed, semi-skimmed-liquids and powders), collected at a local commercial establishment in southern Brazil and Assomada City, Cape Verde. AFLAM1 and AFLAB1 were determined by using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. For the 62 milk samples from 41 supermarkets in the city of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, 68% were contaminated by AFLAM1 (range, 40-3670 ng L−1) and 16% were contaminated by AFLAB1 (range, 40-600 ng L−1), with contamination found only in liquid milk. Among the 50 samples from Assomada City, AFLAM1 was detected in 76% of the samples (range, 32-2896 ng L−1), at values below the current Brazilian legislation for the maximum permitted level in milk powder (5000 ng L−1) but higher than that recommended by the European Commission.