2018 journal article

A systematic approach to monitoring high preharvest aflatoxin levels in maize and peanuts in Africa and Asia

WORLD MYCOTOXIN JOURNAL, 11(4), 485–491.

By: J. Pitt*, C. Boesch*, T. Whitaker n & R. Clarke*

co-author countries: Australia 🇦🇺 Italy 🇮🇹 United States of America 🇺🇸
author keywords: aflatoxin; maize; peanuts; surveillance; warning
Source: Web Of Science
Added: December 31, 2018

Aflatoxin in maize and peanuts remains a critical problem in much of Africa and Asia. Many countries in these regions lack a systematic preharvest approach for providing government agencies with warnings of a potential threat to human and animal health resulting from excessive levels of aflatoxin in crops at harvest. This paper sets out an approach to such a system. It is based on the establishment of a surveillance system in each community to monitor aflatoxin contamination resulting from drought stress before harvest and advise on remedial actions. The system should be under the control of a central government coordinator. If severe drought stress occurs, the coordinator would arrange for samples of the affected crop to be provided to a central aflatoxin laboratory established and controlled by the relevant government department. Assays from the central laboratory would be sent via the central coordinator to a government scientific advisory body, which would recommend appropriate remedial action to be taken at government level.