Molds and Mycotoxins in Ration Wheat Flour in Sulaimani Provence

Abstract

Wheat flour is one of the main food sources of mycotoxin exposure, hence its safety warrants investigation. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and Deoxynivalenol (DON), specifically, and their levels of contamination in wheat flour samples from ration wheat flour samples in Sulaimani City, Kurdistan, Iraq, were examined in the current study. According to the findings of the fungal study, Penicillium (35%) infected the bulk of the samples, with Aspergillus (27%) and Rhizopus (17%) coming in second and third, respectively, and Alternaria (9%), Fusarium (6%), Helminthosporium (4%), Mucor (1%), and Cladosporium (1%).In November and December, the number of molds reached intolerable heights. The findings of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test revealed that AFB1 was present in varying amounts in 100% of the wheat flour samples. AFB1 surpassed the 2 μgkg^-1 maximum permissible quantity in 37.5% of samples, particularly in November and December. In terms of DON, 100% of samples were contaminated with DON without going over the 750 μgkg^-1 EU limit.