Mould Contamination and Aflatoxin Content in Processed Fish: A Health Risk Assessment Study

The purpose of this research was to determine how likely salted feseikh, sardines, and smoked herrings sold in retail stores were contaminated with mold. Computational analysis was conducted to determine the potential health risks linked to the consumption of contaminated salted and smoked fish with total aflatoxins (TAFs). Additionally, the antifungal activities of the ginger oil's were tested using salted feseikh as a substrate. The mold contamination rates in feseikh were the highest (100%), followed by salted sardines showing a rate of 55% and smoked herrings at 35%. Feseikh had the highest total mold count at 3.25±0.17 log 10 CFU/g, while salted sardines and smoked herrings came in at 2.70±0.12 and 2.26±0.04 log 10 CFU/g, respectively. Four mold genera were identified from the samples: Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, and Fusarium. Among the mold species examined, Aspergillus spp. was the most prevalent. For the examined feseikh, salted sardine, and smoked herring samples, the average total aflatoxin (ppb) were 4.04±0.27, 3.50±0.28, and 2.12±0.31, respectively. Estimated daily intakes (EDI) of TAFs in adults were 2.80 ng/kg/BW for feseikh, 2.42 ng/kg/BW for salted sardine, and 1.47 ng/kg/BW for smoked herrings. Regarding EDI of such products in children, for feseikh, they were 6.55 ng/kg/BW; salted sardines were 5.66 ng/kg/BW; and smoked herrings were 3.43 ng/kg/BW. The margin of exposure of the Egyptian population to TAFs was additionally calculated, and the potential health risks were discussed, which suggested that consuming these fish products might not be associated with any cancer risk.”. In an experimental trial using feseikh as a food subject, as it showed the highest mold contamination rate and count, ginger oil significantly reduced fungal counts. It is recommended that strict hygienic protocols be established during the preparation of salted fish. It is advisable to incorporate ginger oil into salted fish to reduce fungal contamination.