ABSTRACT

The mycological quality of cow_s raw milk and cheese in Egypt has been extensively studied. However, rare data was found on the content of AFM₁ in them. Thirty random samples of milk and dairy products that were purchased from different regions in Damietta governorate (July to September 2010) were analyzed for AFM₁ byHPLC and screened for the presence of fungi. Total count of fungi in milk ranged from 8 to 37 colony/ml, the raw milk samples were found to be contaminated with eight species of fungi belong to two genera; Aspergillus and Mucor.  The Aspergillus group was the most prevalent fungi in all examined samples, within these species, A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. ochraceus, A. terreus, A. parasiticus, A. restirictus and Mucor species. White cheese samples were contaminated with five fungal genera, A. fumigatus, A. japonicus saito, A. ochraceus, A. terreus, A. flavus, Penicillium nigricans, Trichoderma , Rhizopus, Cochliobolus lunatus and Cochliobolus spicifer and the total fungal count ranged from 7 to 38 colony/g white cheese sample. On the other hand, hard cheese samples were contaminated with ten fungal species belong to four genera, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. parasiticus and A. terreus, A. japonicus saito, Cladosporium spp., A. niger, A. ochraceus, Mucor sp. and Candida spp. and the total fungal count ranged from 12 to 65 colony/g.  AFM₁ was detected in milk, White and Hard cheese and its concentrations ranged from 0.06 to 2.06, 0.26 and 0.58 to 2.9 ppb, respectively. AFM₁ levels in 15 out of the 30 samples were found to be higher than the maximum tolerable limit set by the Egyptian Ministry of Health(free from AFM₁). This study concluded that the AFM₁ level in the cow_s milk, white and hard cheeses in the collected samples were higher than permissible levels and  constitutes health  hazard to consumers in these areas.

Keywords: Aflatoxin M₁, HPLC, Milk, Cheese, Fungi.