Prevalence of Microbial Contamination and Aflatoxins (B1) in Flour Producing Silos

Iman Khaleel Ibrahim, Kadhim Hashim Yassen, Lubna Alzubaidi

Abstract


Background: The microbial growth and fungal growth associated with the process of storing and grinding wheat is one of the main reasons affecting consumer health. The current study aimed to measure bacterial, fungal and mycotoxins prevalence in Iraqi silos and mills, which May affect the health of silo workers and public health.

Methods: The study included 40 samples of local wheat grains and 40 samples of wheat flour were collected randomly for the summer seasons from 4 silos in Baghdad, Maysan silo and Al- Basra silos in the south, and Erbil silo and Kirkuk silo in the northern region during July and August 2022.

Results: The results of the study showed the spread of many types of pathological spores that were isolated from wheat flour and local wheat, and also the chemical analysis indicated the presence of mycotoxins the following silos (Al-Dora, Al-Taji, Al-Khan, Maysan, Al- Basra, Kirkuk) in a percentage affecting human health.

Conclusions: The statistical analysis data shows  significant difference (p ≤ 0.05)  for local wheat and  local flour, the temperature and moisture associated with storage and grind respectively, most specimens of domestic wheat and the flour produced from them contain more total coliforms and fungi than the permissible limit.

Keywords: Temperature; Moisture; Microorganisms; B1 Aflatoxin


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.62940/als.v12i1.2104

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