Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in UHT milk and pasteurized milk in China market

In the present study, the contamination of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in 153 UHT milk samples collected in July and September 2010, and 26 pasteurized milk samples collected in September 2010, were assessed using the ELISA method. The AFM1 was detected in 54.9% of UHT milk samples with a concentration of 0.006–0.160 μg/L. Moreover, 96.2% of pasteurized milk samples tested positive for AFM1 with concentration levels of 0.023–0.154 μg/L. The occurrence of AFM1 in all positive samples was far below Chinaʹs national legal limit of 0.5 μg/L. Meanwhile, the AMF1 content in 20.3% of UHT milk samples and 65.4% of pasteurized milk samples exceeds the European Unionʹs legal limit of 0.05 μg/L.