Aflatoxin B1 occurrence and risk estimation to human health associated with agricultural practices in peanut production systems

Aflatoxin contamination in peanuts is a significant health risk to consumers due to its carcinogenic nature. In this study, the concentration of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in peanut kernels and the associated risk of hepatocarcinoma were evaluated across different age groups within the Cameroonian population. This assessment was from the peanut production system located in Adamawa, Centre, and North regions of Cameroon. Concentrations of AFB1 in raw peanut samples (n = 90) were analyzed using ELISA. The results revealed frequencies of AFB1 contamination at 57.17% in low-resource peanut production systems (System 1), 47.36% for subsistence production systems integrating peanut, maize, and roots/tubers (System 2), 81.48% for semi-intensive integrated cotton-peanut production systems (System 3), and at 100% in highly monetized peanut production systems (System 4). Correspondingly, the average AFB1 concentrations for these systems were 3.57, 4.14, 2.49, and 26.37 µg/kg, respectively. These AFB1 concentrations especially those exceeding 2 µg/kg were consistently connected to agronomic factors such as crop variety, previous field cultivation, fertilizer use practices, the application of phytosanitary products, and the type of storage bag used. For all age categories, the mean exposure to AFB1 through peanut consumption was estimated to range between 1.40 and 150.02 ng/kg bw/day, resulting in a margin of exposure (MOE) of 1.40 to 5539.72. The average estimated cancer risk due to AFB1 exposure ranged from 0.06 to 6.89 cases/100,000 people/year. This study proves the risk assessment and possible health impact of AFB1 in peanuts from the existing peanut production systems in the study regions. Developing strategies for the mitigation of aflatoxin B1 tailored to different production systems should be done. Thereby promoting safe peanut production in fitting the global standards is necessary and contributing to the achievement of crucial food safety and security.