Aflatoxin occurs on moldy grains, corn, peanuts and other crops.
Exposure to aflatoxin can cause liver cancer. In many countries around the world, particularly in Africa and Asia, large numbers of people regularly consume foods heavily contaminated with aflatoxin. In the U.S., federal and state inspections as well as proper storage and transport reduce the level of aflatoxin in the human food supply and largely divert contaminated foodstuffs to uses other than human consumption. However, a drug like Oltipraz could be useful in reducing people's exposures in developing countries where aflatoxin contaminates the food supply. This work is being supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science and the National Cancer Institute , both parts of the National Institutes of Health .