2.6. Regulations for aflatoxins in the world and Vietnam
2.6.1. Regulations for aflatoxins in the world
Aflatoxins particularly aflatoxin B1 are considered as unavoidable
contaminants of food and feed, even where good manufacturing practices have been followed. To ensure food safety, maximum tolerable levels for aflatoxins in food and feed have been regulated by national and international organizations and these regulations differ from nation to nation for the determination of aflatoxin concentrations in food and feed commodities. By the end of 2003, around 100 countries around the world have regulations governing aflatoxins in food and most include maximum permited, or recommended levels for specific commodities, and the number continues to increase. Binder et al. (2007) reported that AFB1 was presented in most agricultural commodities and it was quite high in animal feed, not only in Asian and Pacific countries but also in European and Mediterranean countries. The AFB1 concentration regulation levels in agricultural commodities in EU countries are lower than those in Asian and Pacific countries. This might be a result of the stringent aflatoxins for export and imported food and feed of European Commission (EC) countries.
European Union(EU)
The EU regulates limits for aflatoxin B1 and for total aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) in nuts, dried fruits, cereals and spices. Limits vary according to the commodity, but range from 2 - 12 àg/kg for B1 and from 4 - 15 àg/kg for total aflatoxins (Richard Lawley, 2013).
According to Tedesco et al. (2008), few countries regulate AFB1 in feedstuffs for dairy cattle. This is entirely reasonable and logical because that it is aflatoxin M1, the metabolite of AFB1, which cause health concern. As a result, limiting AFB1 in animal feeds is the most effective means of controlling aflatoxin M1 in milk. A limit of 5 μg/kg in feed for dairy cow and a level of 20 μg/kg in feed for cattle, sheep, goats, swine and poultry are applied in the European Union (EU) countries. This limit is applied by countries in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), in many of the candidate EU countries and sporadically outside Europe.
United States of America (USA)
The U.S. General Accounting Office has concluded that industry, federal, and state programs are effective in detecting and controlling aflatoxins and that it is doubtful that additional programs or limits would reduce the risk of aflatoxins in the food supply. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established specific guidelines on acceptable levels of aflatoxins in human food and animal feed by establishing action levels that allow for the removal of
violative lots from commerce. The FDA action levels for aflatoxins are shown in Table 2.3 (Henry, 2006).
Table 2.4. The FDA action levels for aflatoxins in human food and livestock feed
No Intended use Grain, grain by-product, Feed or other products
Aflatoxin level (àg/kg)
1 Human consumption Milk 0.5
( AFM1)
2 Human consumption Foods, peanuts and peanut products,
brazil and pistachio nuts 20
3 Immature animals
Corn, peanut products, and other animal feeds andingredients, excluding cottonseed meal
20
4 Dairy animals, animals not listed above, or unknown use
Corn, peanut products, cottonseed, and other animal feeds and
ingredients
20
5
Breeding cattle, breeding
swine and mature poultry Corn and peanut products 100
6
Finishing swine 100 pounds or
greater in weight Corn and peanut products 200
7
Finishing (i.e., feedlot) beef
cattle Corn and peanut products 300
8
Beef, cattle, swine or poultry, regardless of age or breeding status
Cotton seed meal 300
Source: Henry (2006) Therefore, the FDA food safety regulatory limits for total aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) in all food except milk are no more than 20 μg/kg and a limit of 0.5 μg/kg for M1 in milk. Higher limits are applied in animal feeds.
Others
Both Australia and Canada set a limit of 15 μg/kg for total aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) in nuts. This is similar to the international limit recommended for raw peanuts by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Lawley, 2013).
With AFB1, a limit of 20 μg/kg for dairy animals and a limit of 100 μg/kg intended for breeding beef cattle, breeding swine, or mature poultry are applied in the United States, Africa and Latin America (Tedesco et al., 2008).
Consequently, the accepted limits of AFB1 and total aflatoxins in foods are 5 and 10 μg/kg, respectively, in more than 75 countries around the world whilst they are 2 and 4 μg/kg in the European Union (López et al., 2003 and Van Egmond and Jonker, 2004). Regulations vary depending on whether country setting limits is an importer or exporter.
Moreover, regulations for AFM1 existed in 60 countries at the end of 2003, a more than threefold increase as compared to 1995 (FAO, 2005). This is because exposure to any level of genotoxic carcinogens as AFM1, may pose a health risk to consumers, especially for children, so the exposure level should be zero for a zero risk to liver cancer that may be caused by aflatoxins in general. Countries which defended an AFM1 maximum level of 0.5 ppb argue that those concentrations they could cause adverse economic consequences due to the difficulty of milk exports to countries that accept only a maximum level of 0.05 ppb. Delegates from some other countries argue that the level of 0.05 ppb is difficult to achieve in most regions of the world, so, a level of 0.5 ppb is enough to promote public health protection. Specifically, EU, EFTA, candidate EU countries and some other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, apply a maximum level of 0.05 μg/kg in milk and a maximum level of 0.025 μg/kg for AFM1 in infant formula. A limit of 0.5 μg AFM1/kg in milk is applied in the United States, several Asian, European countries and in Latin America, where it is also established as a harmonized Mercosur (a trading block consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) limit.