Evaluación de la contaminación con aflatoxinas en el maíz pelado cocido (“mote pelado”) y exposición dietaria. Caso estudio: Nabón - Ecuador

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the degree of contamination with aflatoxin in cooked dehusked maize (“mote pelado”) and dietary exposure in a rural population from Nabón canton, Ecuador. The degree of contamination for aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 was determined by High Resolution Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) in 40 samples of cooked dehusked maize supplied by producers of the canton Nabón. None of the samples was contaminated (above the detection limit) and therefore could not be compared to the maximum permissible levels of contamination in international standards (eg. FDA) and the Ecuadorian regulations. In addition, the risk of dietary exposure was evaluated by the method of point estimation for which the reference value of contamination was the half of the detection limit of each aflatoxin, and it was related to the average consumption of maize of the studied population . The degree of exposure was assessed using the concept of margin of exposure (MOE). All MOE values were above 10,000 which means that the risk of the studied population can be considered negligible from the public health perspective.