Abstract

We assessed the occurrence of aflatoxin M-1 (AFM(1)) in urine in a sample of the MAUCO population-based cohort (n = 120) using an enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) kit specially designed for the analysis of AFM(1) in urine. We found AFM(1) in the urine of 59% of the participants (> limit of detection), with 12% of the samples being over the limit of quantification. The mean of the quantifiable samples was 0.66 (+/- 0.35) ng/mg adjusted creatinine, ranging from 0.31 to 1.39 ng/mg creatinine. The mean probable daily intake (PDI) of AFB(1) was 0.23 (+/- 0.37) ng/kg bw according to the upper bound (UB), being significantly higher in women and 0.14 (+/- 0.23) ng/kg bw in the modified lower bound (mLB) approach, ranging from 0.01 to 1.98 ng/kg bw. The risk of AFB(1) was assessed with the margin of exposure (MOE) approach estimated at 2800 in the mean mLB and 1733 in the mean UB. According to the MOE values obtained in this study, aflatoxin B-1 exposure must be considered a public health concern and must be taken as a priority for food risk management.