Incidence of Aflatoxin M₁ in Milk and Milk Products from Punjab, Pakistan, and Estimation of Dietary Intake

In the present study, 124 samples of milk and milk products were analyzed for the presence of aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁), which were purchased from the central cities of Punjab, Pakistan. The analysis was carried out using reverse-phase liquid chromatography, which was equipped with a fluorescence detector. The results showed that 66 samples (53.8%) of raw milk and milk products were found to be contaminated with detectable levels of AFM₁ above ≤50 ng/L, and 24.2% of the samples had levels of AFM₁ higher than the permissible limit of the European Union (EU; 50 ng/kg). In total, 53.6% of the raw milk, 57.8% of the UHT (ultra-heat-temperature) milk, 45% of the powdered milk, 57.1% of the yogurt, 55.5% of the cheese, and 50% of the buttermilk samples had levels higher than the LOD, i.e., 4 ng/L. The highest mean of 82.4 ± 7.8 ng/kg of AFM₁ was present in the positive samples of raw milk. The highest dietary intake of AFM₁ was found in infants’ milk (5.35 ng/kg/day), UHT milk (1.80 ng/kg/day), powdered milk (5.25 ng/kg/day), and yogurt (1.11 ng/kg/day). However, no dietary intake was detected in the cheese and butter milk samples used for infants. The results from the undertaken work are beneficial for establishing rigorous limits for AFB₁ in animal feed, especially considering the high prevalence rate of hepatitis cases in the central cities of Punjab, Pakistan.