Aflatoxin M1 contamination in grated parmesan cheese marketed in Rio de Janeiro - BrazilABSTRACTThis study aimed to determine the occurrence of AFM1 contamination in the samples of grated parmesan cheese marketed in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro -Brazil. Thirty samples representing 10 major brands marketed in the region were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) after purification with immunoaffinity column. The method showed recovery values within the range of 70-90%, with RSD lower than 15% and limits of detection and quantification below the maximum level allowed by the European Commission for the presence of AFM1 in cheeses. The mycotoxin was identified in 18 (60%) of the grated cheese samples tested. The highest value corresponded to 0.69 0.02 g/kg and the mean for all the analyzed samples was 0.16 g/kg. All the samples were lower than the limit established by the Brazilian legislation (2.5 g/kg) for AFM1 in cheeses in general. However, eight samples (26.7%) presented AFM1 levels above the tolerance limit of 0.25 g/kg adopted by the European Commission. These results indicated that AFM1 levels in the grated cheese consumed in Rio de Janeiro -Brazil were relatively high and it could provide a potential hazard for the public health.Key words: mycotoxin, dairy products, HPLC-FLDFull text is available here > http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-89132013005000015&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en "Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology"or here:http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-89132013005000015 Authors: Felipe Machado TrombeteI,*; Izabela Miranda de CastroII; Alessandra da Silva TeixeiraII; Tatiana SaldanhaI; Marcelo Elias FragaIIIIDepartamento de Tecnologia de Alimentos, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro; Seropedica -RJ -BrasilIIEmbrapa Agroindustria de Alimentos; Rio de Janeiro -RJ -BrasilIIIDepartamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia Veterinaria; Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro; Seropedica -RJ -Brasil RESUMENLos tricotecenos y las aflatoxinas son contaminantes naturales producidos por hongos filamentosos y de alta incidencia en trigo. La presencia de estas micotoxinas es un problema importante de salud publica debido a que son moleculas muy estables durante los procesos de industrializacion a los que el trigo es sometido para la obtencion de derivados y por los efectos toxicos que causan. El objetivo de esta revision fue abordar los principales temas relacionados con la incidencia y los metodos de determinacion de los tricotecenos (deoxinivalenol, nivalenol, toxina T-2 y HT-2) y las aflatoxinas en el trigo y derivados. Se observa que, en los ultimos anos, ha aumentado el numero de trabajos publicados en revistas internacionales sobre el tema. En muchos estudios se demuestra niveles superiores a los limites maximos permitidos y la presenciade aflatoxinas y tricotecenos tambien se han asociado con la ocurrencia simultanea de otras micotoxinas. La mejor manera de reducir la contaminacion de trigo por tricotecenos y aflatoxinas sigue siendo la aplicacion de buenas practicas agricolas para el cultivo, cosecha y almacenamiento de granos, ya que, aunque hay metodos de descontaminacion, estos aun no son aplicados a gran escala.Palabras clave: Micotoxinas, DON, metodos analiticos, HPLC, fusarium spp, aspergillus spp.ABSTRACTTrichothecenes and aflatoxins are natural contaminants produced by filamentous fungi and they are widely present in wheat. The presence of these mycotoxins are a serious public health problem because they remains stable during the industrial processes