Detection of aflatoxin M1 in cheese samples by ELISA

This study was undertaken to determine the presence and levels of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in cheeses consumed in the province of Ankara. For this purpose, a total of 400 cheese samples containing 100 samples each of white, kashar, tulum and processed cheeses were used as the study material. The cheese samples were purchased randomly from different markets. The competitive ELISA (RIDASCREEN Aflatoxin M1, no. R1101) was used to determine the presence and levels of AFM1. Different levels of AFM1 were detected in the 327 (81.75%) cheese samples consisting of white (82%), tulum (81%), kashar (85%) and processed cheese (79%) samples. Altogether, 110 cheese samples (27.5%) were found to have levels that exceed the legal limits of 250 ng/kg established by the Turkish Food Codex. Among these, 27% of white cheese, 24% of tulum cheese, 34% of kashar cheese and 25% of processed cheese exceeded the Turkish safety limits. It was therefore concluded that, widespread occurrence of AFM1 in cheese samples sold in the Ankara province were considered to be possible hazards for human health.