MULTIPLE MYCOTOXINS IN CORN FLOUR SOLD IN BULK AT MARKETS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

In Côte d’Ivoire, cereals, mainly maize, play a significant role in diets, especially for children. Maize and its products can be contaminated with mold in the field and during post-harvest treatments. This study assessed the sanitary quality of some maize flours used in human consumption, particularly for children in Côte d’Ivoire. Thus, 43 maize flour samples collected in the Abidjan, Bouaké, and Korhogo markets were subjected to multi-mycotoxin analyses. The results showed that more than 97 % of the samples contained mycotoxins such as aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, citrinin, trichothecenes, and beauvericin. Fumonisin B1 (FUMB1) was the mycotoxin with the highest contamination rate (95.3 %). Analysis of the contamination profile of the samples revealed that flour samples containing four mycotoxins simultaneously were the most common. The flours collected in Bouaké were the most contaminated in terms of both quality and quantity, with total aflatoxin and fumonisin levels ranging from 34.3 µg.kg-1 to 81.3 µg.kg-1. All recorded aflatoxin levels exceeded the limits set by the European Commission, that is, 0.1 µg.kg-1 for infants and 4 µg.kg-1 for adults. This location also had the highest levels of ochratoxin A. Positive correlations were observed between the mycotoxins. Consumption of this corn flour could expose young children to toxic infections.