Evaluation of safety and health risk characterization of some baby foods in Ghana

The presence of fungal species, fungal loads, mycotoxins, and toxic metals was assessed in commercial pureed baby food products in different markets in Ghana. Fungal studies was performed using standard protocols. The analyses of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, and M1 as well as Ochratoxin A (OTA) were undertaken using high-performance liquid chromatography connected to a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD). Toxic metals such as copper (Cu), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and chromium (Cr) were also determined by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed the presence of fungal contaminants in all tested baby food samples, with counts ranging from 3.2 to 4.52 log CFU/g. Yeasts, Aspergillus, and Fusarium species were the most frequently isolated. The quantities of aflatoxins, ochratoxins were in the ranges of 0.315-11.446 and 1.991-2.510 µg/kg respectively. There were trace amounts of lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and copper. The health risk assessments indicated no adverse health effects, since the calculated estimated daily intake (EDI) was lower than the Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (PTDI), and also all Incremental Life Cancer Risk (ILCR) values were < 10⁶. Regular monitoring of these food contaminants in baby foods is essential to ensure the public health safety of babies.