Aflatoxin: A Synthesis of the Research in Health, Agriculture and Trade

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“Standards for
aflatoxin limits vary
across foodstuffs,
country or region, and
the intended use of the
food.”
“...aflatoxin cost
Africa $750 million
USD each year in
exports of cereals,
dried fruit, and nuts.”
tRADe
Summary
Mycotoxins impact the trade of several agricultural products including cereals,
oilseeds, root crops, dried fruits, and coffee beans, which form the agricultural
economic foundation of most developing African countries. Standards for
aflatoxin limits vary across foodstuffs, country or region, and the intended use
of the food. classic technologies for detecting and quantifying mycotoxins
can include high performance liquid chromatography (hPlc), fluorescence
or mass spectrometry detection, thin-layer chromatography, eliSA (enzymelinked
immunosorbent assay), gas chromatography, and flame-ionization
chromatography.
international guidelines on aflatoxin are provided by the codex Alimentarius
commission established by the food and Agricultural organization of the
United nations (fAo) and the World health organization (Who). in addition
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the european Union (eU), canada,
and many African and Asian countries have established specific regulations on
acceptable levels of aflatoxin in human food and animal feed. trade regulations
on aflatoxin have been imposed for decades and are becoming increasingly
strict: the acceptable range of aflatoxin for humans is from 0.5 ppb in milk to
as much as 20 ppb in processed foods.
nontariff barriers are barriers to trade that are not based in laws, treaties, or
official regulations. they are often contained within in the rules and regulations
of a country relating to trade or product sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
Key nontariff barriers include technical barriers, such as safety standards,
electrical standards, environmental standards, health standards, and other
protective codes. compliance costs associated with the rejection of food
products due to a failure to meet regulations can be significant. for example,
europe is the most important market for African exports. Between 1989 and
1998 the eU imported approximately 66 percent of its peanut exports from
African countries. 1 Under more stringent eU harmonization guidelines, exports
of cereals and cereal preparations in 1998 could have declined by 59 percent,
or $177 million. While adoption of more lenient codex standards would have
increased exports of cereals and cereal preparation by 68 percent, or $202
million in 1998, standards have not been relaxed.
Dr. Kofi Annan, the former Un Secretary General, has called on the Western
nations to redress a global trade that is disadvantageous to the developing
countries as a result of rejected commodities that are short on quality. he cited
a World Bank study which revealed that the european Union regulation on
aflatoxin cost Africa $750 million each year in exports of cereals, dried fruit,
and nuts. 2
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