Occurrence of aflatoxins in rice (Oryza sativa L.) produced in Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2025.14298Keywords:
Cultivation systems, food safety, mycotoxins, rice contaminationAbstract
In order to investigate the presence of aflatoxins (AFs), a total of 120 samples of paddy rice cultivated by the ‘irrigation’ and ‘rainfed’ systems in the main rice-growing regions of Colombia were taken during 2017 and 2018. The Association of Official Analytical Chemists accredited standard method, based on high-performance liquid chromatography, was used to detect and quantify AFs (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2). The results showed that, in 2017, the occurrence of AFs in paddy rice from rainfed systems was 43% (range 2.1 to 119.5 µg/kg), while in the irrigation system, it was 16.7% (range 0.1 to 1.83 µg/kg). By 2018, the occurrence of AFs had decreased to 31% for the rainfed system and 2% for the irrigation system. AFs contamination levels were higher in the rainfed system compared to the irrigated system (p<0.05). No AFG1 or AFG2 was detected, irrespective of the cultivation system used. AFB1 was the most prevalent AF in paddy rice, with a global occurrence of 22.9% in 2017 and 8.62% in 2018. At the national level, the prevalence of AFs in milled rice was 50%. Of the positive samples, 62.5% exceeded the maximum permitted value, with concentrations ranging from 10.3 to 93.9 µg/kg. These findings underscore the critical importance of mycotoxins in the context of food safety, emphasizing the necessity for effective control measures within the rice industry. This study is the first detailed report on the incidence of AFs in paddy rice cultivated in Colombia.
Downloads
References
Agronet, 2014. Area, production, and national yield by crop. Available from: https://www.agronet.gov.co/estadistica/Paginas/home.aspx?cod=1.
Akbar QA, Arif S, Sahar N, Khurshid S, Iqbal M, Iqbal S, Khurshid H, Iqbal H, Masood SS, 2024. Investigating the effects of grain quality, processing and environmental conditions on aflatoxin contamination in rice. J Food Compos Anal 127:105982.
Alhendi AS, Mhaibes AA, Al–Rawi SH, Mohammed AK, 2020. Occurrence of microorganisms, aflatoxin, ochratoxin, and heavy metals in paddy and rice produced in Iraq. Thai J Agricl Sci 53:109-19.
Ali N, 2019. Aflatoxins in rice: worldwide occurrence and public health perspectives. Toxicol Rep 6:1188-97.
Alkuwari A, Hassan ZU, Zeidan R, Al-Thani R, Jaoua S. 2022. Occurrence of Mycotoxins and Toxigenic Fungi in Cereals and Application of Yeast Volatiles for Their Biological Control. Toxins, 14, 404.
Alshannaq A, Yu JH, 2017. Occurrence, toxicity, and analysis of major mycotoxins in Food. Int J Environ Res Public Health 14:632.
Arenas-Huertero F, Zaragoza-Ojeda M, Sánchez-Alarcón J, Milić M, Šegvić Klarić M, Montiel-González JM, Valencia-Quintana R, 2019. Involvement of Ahr pathway in toxicity of aflatoxins and other mycotoxins. Front Microbiol 10:2347.
Benkerroum N, 2020. Chronic and acute toxicities of aflatoxins: mechanisms of action. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17:423.
Caceres I, Khoury AA, Khoury RE, Lorber S, Oswald IP, Khoury AE, Atoui A, Puel O, Bailly JD, 2020. Aflatoxin biosynthesis and genetic regulation: a review. Toxins 12:150.
Chica LJ, Tirado OYC, Barreto OJM, 2016. Competitive indicators from Colombia and U.S. rice production. Rev Cienc Agríc 33:16-31.
Díaz G, Perilla N, Rojas Y, 2001. Occurrence of aflatoxins in selected colombian foods. Mycotoxin Res 17:15-20.
Díaz GJ, Krska R, Sulyok M, 2015. Mycotoxins and cyanogenic glycosides in staple foods of three indigenous people of the Colombian Amazon. Food Addit Contam Part B Surveill 8:291-7.
Ding N, Xing F, Liu X, Selvaraj JN, Wang L, Zhao Y, Wang Y, Guo W, Dai X, Liu Y, 2015. Variation in fungal microbiome (mycobiome) and aflatoxin in stored in-shell peanuts at four different areas of China. Front Microbiol 6:1055.
Ekpakpale DO, Kraak B, Meijer M, Ayeni KI, Houbraken J, Ezekiel CN, 2021. Fungal diversity and aflatoxins in maize and rice grains and Cassava-Based Flour (Pupuru) from Ondo State, Nigeria. J Fungi Basel Switz 7:635.
Espinal C, Martínez H, Ortiz L, 2005. The rice chain in Colombia. A global view of its structure and dynamics. 1991-2005. Working Paper No. 52. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Agricultural Chains Observatory Colombia.
Gruber-Dorninger C, Jenkins T, Schatzmayr G, 2019. Global mycotoxin occurrence in feed: a ten-year survey. Toxins 11:375.
Hassan MA, Dahu N, Hongning T, Qian Z, Yueming Y, Yiru L, Shimei W, 2023. Drought stress in rice: morpho-physiological and molecular responses and marker-assisted breeding. Front Plant Sci 14:1215371.
Katsurayama AM, Martins LM, Iamanaka BT, Fungaro MHP, Silva JJ, Frisvad JC, Pitt JI, Taniwaki MH, 2018. Occurrence of Aspergillus section Flavi and Aflatoxins in Brazilian rice: from field to market. Int J Food Microbiol 266:213-21.
Khodaei D, Javanmardi F, Khaneghah AM, 2021. The global overview of the occurrence of mycotoxins in cereals: a three-year survey. Curr Opin Food Sci 39:36-42.
Korley Kortei N, Akomeah Agyekum A, Akuamoa F, Baffour VK, Wiisibie Alidu H, 2019. Risk assessment and exposure to levels of naturally occurring aflatoxins in some packaged cereals and cereal based foods consumed in Accra, Ghana. Toxicol Rep 6:34-41.
Kumar P, Mahato DK, Kamle M, Mohanta TK, Kang SG, 2016. Aflatoxins: A Global Concern for Food Safety, Human Health and Their Management. Front Microbiol 7:2170.
Lai X, Liu R, Ruan Ch, Zhang H, Liu Ch, 2015. Occurrence of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in rice samples from six provinces in China. Food Control 50:401-4.
Loaiza S, Verchot L, Valencia D, Guzmán P, Amezquita N, Garcés G, Puentes O, Trujillo C, Chirinda N, Pittelkow CM, 2024. Evaluating greenhouse gas mitigation through alternate wetting and drying irrigation in Colombian rice production. Agric Ecosyst Environ 360:108787.
Martínez MFE, Deantonio FLY, Araujo CGA, Rojas EO, Gómez-Latorre DA, Alzate DF, Ortiz LA, Aguilera GE, Boshell-Villamarin JF, 2016. Agroclimatic zoning methodology for agricultural production systems in the dry region of the Colombian Caribbean. Agron Colomb 34:59672.
Martínez MMM, Rosero MM, Taborda OG, 2019. Occurrence, dietary exposure and risk assessment of aflatoxins in arepa, bread and rice, Food Control 98:359-66.
Mazaheri M. 2009. Determination of aflatoxins in imported rice to Iran. Food Chem Toxicol 47:2064-6.
Medina A, Akbar A, Baazeem A, Rodríguez A, Magan N, 2017. Climate change, food security and mycotoxins: Do we know enough? Fungal Biol Rev 31:143-54.
Morrison DM, Ledoux DR, Chester LF, Samuels CA, 2019. Occurrence of aflatoxins in rice and in cassava (Manihot esculenta) products (meal, bread) produced in Guyana. Mycotoxin Res 35:75-81.
Mousa W, Ghazali FM, Jinap S, Ghazali HM, Radu S, Salama AE, 2016. Temperature, water activity and gas composition effects on the growth and aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus on paddy. J Stored Prod Res 67:49-55.
Naeem I, Ismail A, Riaz M, Aziz M, Akram K, Shahzad MA, Ameen M, Ali S, Oliveira CAF, 2024. Aflatoxins in the rice production chain: a review on prevalence, detection, and decontamination strategies, Food Res Int 188:114441.
Ortiz J, Van Camp J, Mestdagh F, Donoso S, De Meulenaer B, 2013. Mycotoxin co-occurrence in rice, oat flakes and wheat noodles used as staple foods in Ecuador. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 30:2165-76.
Panrapee I, Phakpoom K, Thanapoom M, Nampeung A, Warapa M, 2016. Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in Thailand by consumption of brown and color rice. Mycotoxin Res 32:19-25.
Phan LTK, De Saeger S, Eeckhout M, Jacxsens L, 2023. Public health risk due to aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination in rice in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Food Saf Risk 10:4.
Reddy K, Abbas H, Abel C, Shier W, Oliveira C, Raghavender C, 2009. Mycotoxin contamination of commercially important agricultural products. Toxin Rev 28: 154-68.
Reiter EV, Vouk F, Böhm J, Razzazi-Fazeli E, 2010. Aflatoxins in rice – a limited survey of products marketed in Austria. Food Control 21:988-91.
Samsudin NI, Abdullah NA, 2013. Preliminary survey on the occurrence of mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxins contaminating red rice at consumer level in Selangor, Malaysia. Mycotoxin Res 29:89-96.
Santos AR, Carreiró F, Freitas A, Barros S, Brites C, Ramos F, Sanches Silva A, 2022. Mycotoxins contamination in rice: Analytical methods, occurrence and detoxification strategies. Toxins 14:647.
Savi GD, Piacentini KC, Rocha LO, Carnielli-Queiroz L, Furtado BG, Scussel R, Zanoni ET, Machado-de-Ávila RA, Corrêa B, Angioletto E, 2018. Incidence of toxigenic fungi and zearalenone in rice grains from Brazil. Int J Food Microbiol 270:5-13.
Shen MH, Singh RK, 2021. Detoxification of aflatoxins in foods by ultraviolet irradiation, hydrogen peroxide, and their combination – a review. LWT 142:110986.
Suárez-Bonnet E, Carvajal M, Méndez-Ramírez I, Castillo-Urueta P, Cortés-Eslava J, Gómez-Arroyo S, Melero-Vara JM, 2013. Aflatoxin (B1, B2, G1 and G2) contamination in rice of Mexico and Spain, from local sources or imported. J Food Sci 78:T1822-9.
Sun XD, Su P, Shan H, 2017. Mycotoxin contamination of rice in China. J Food Sci 82:573-84.
Troestch J, Reyes S, Vega A, 2022. Determination of mycotoxin contamination levels in rice and dietary exposure assessment. J Toxicol 2022:3596768.
Zhao Y, Wang Q, Huang J, Chen Z, Liu S, Wang X, Wang F, 2019. Mycotoxin contamination and presence of mycobiota in rice sold for human consumption in China. Food Control 98:19-23.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
