How are the levels of aflatoxins in foods controlled?
Control of aflatoxins starts with farmers, since well grown, healthy, carefully harvested and dried crops are much less likely to be contaminated. In the case of peanuts, careful monitoring of crops and separation of sub-standard stock before storage and during shelling also help minimise the incidence of mouldy peanuts. Most nut supplies are screened using both electronic and visual sorting at the shelling stage. Stringent sampling methods designed to give an accurate picture of aflatoxin levels are used by both farmers and manufacturers. At manufacturer level, the use of sorting and blanching technology results in further detection. Aflatoxins can only be detected by extremely sophisticated chemical analysis. Every load of raw peanuts is tested and manufacturers will only accept those which give results that are often less than half the permitted EU levels. Once processed, the peanuts are tested again to ensure they still comply, prior to being released for production. The finished p
