Elimination of aflatoxin B1 in peanuts by acidic electrolyzed oxidizing water

Acidic electrolyzed oxidizing water (AcEW) is prepared by electrolyzing electrolyte solution using an electrolysis apparatus with an ion-exchange membrane. AcEW has a pH < 3.0, a high oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) >1000 mV and a high available chlorine concentration (ACC). In this research, the effectiveness of AcEW on decontamination of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) from naturally contaminated peanuts was investigated. According to our results, after the contaminated peanuts were soaked with AcEW solution (the ratio of liquid to solid was 5:1 (v/m)) for 15 min at room temperature, the content of AFB1 in peanuts decreased from 34.80 μg/kg to around 5 μg/kg. That is, about 85% AFB1 was decontaminated from contaminated samples. Ambient temperature and soaking time could markedly influence the elimination rate of AFB1 in contaminated peanuts. The elimination of AFB1 was relatively high when the ambient temperature was 25 °C or 45 °C. And the contaminated peanuts soaked in AcEW for 15 min can effectively decontaminate AFB1. In addition, the nutrition of peanuts didn’t significantly change after treatment including the appearance of color. We also found that high level of ACC is the primary factor in AFB1 elimination. Furthermore, ACC in the form of HClO is probably more efficient than ACC in the form of ClO− on AFB1 elimination.