Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in goat’s milk and effect of heat treatment on its stability

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is often associated with hepatic cancer and can be traced in animal and human milk. This carcinogen is derived from aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) as a by-product of hydroxylation process, heat-stable, and difficult to be mitigated from milk. Numerous studies were done on AFM1 treatments, however the research in Malaysia is limited. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the occurrence of AFM1 in raw and powdered formulations of goat’s milk in Selangor, Malaysia and to examine the potency of AFM1 via heat treatments such as boiling and pasteurization. A total of eight milk samples obtained from local farms and markets were subjected to immunoaffinity column (IAC) and analysed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Fluorescence Detector (HPLC-FD). Aflatoxin M1-positive samples were further subjected to boiling and pasteurization at 100°C for 3 min and 63°C for 30 min, respectively. Results showed that three out of eight samples (37.5%) were positive for AFM1 in the range of 0.772±0.185 to 4.265±0.371 µg/L. AFM1 concentrations in raw, boiled, and pasteurized samples were not significant (p>0.05). In conclusion, AFM1 is heat-stable and usual heat treatment employed in domestic or industries did not mitigate the toxin significantly. Goat's milk manufacturers or farmers must be informed of the toxin hazard and perform regular monitoring on the feed and farm facilities to avoid AFM1 contamination at the early stage, thus producing safe and wholesome milk for public consumption.

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