College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi 59911, United Arab Emirates.
Nutrition Program, Natural Sciences Department, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 15;19(22):15000. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192215000.
Rice is one of the most consumed staple foods worldwide and a major part of the diet for half of the global population. Being primarily cultivated in countries with warm and humid environments increases rice's susceptibility for mycotoxins contamination, especially the hepatotoxic and carcinogenic aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Since no study was published before on the exposure to AFB1 from consuming rice in the UAE, our study aims to assess the levels of AFB1 in rice marketed in the country and determine the estimated daily exposure of the population for this carcinogenic metabolite and its associated liver cancer risk. All white, brown, and parboiled rice brands available in the retail markets in the UAE were procured twice. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, AFB1 was detected in 48 out of 128 rice samples (38%). The average contamination ± standard deviation of AFB1 among positive samples (above the detection limit) was found to be 1.66 ± 0.89 μg/kg, ranging from 1 μg/kg (detection limit) to 4.69 μg/kg. The contamination level in all the samples was below the limit set by the Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization (≤5 μg/kg), while 10 (20.8%) of the positive samples had a contamination level above the maximum limit set by the European Union (≥2 μg/kg). The moisture content in all the assessed samples was ≤14%. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in AFB1 between samples in both collections (-value = 0.043). However, the rice type, grain size, packing country, packing season, country of origin, collection season, and packing to purchasing time had no significant effect on AFB1. The calculated mean daily exposure level of the Emirati population to AFB1 from consuming rice was 4.83 ng/kg.
大米是全球消费最多的主食之一，也是全球一半人口饮食的主要组成部分。由于大米主要在温暖潮湿的环境中种植，因此更容易受到霉菌毒素污染，尤其是具有肝毒性和致癌性的黄曲霉毒素 B1（AFB1）。由于以前在阿联酋没有关于食用大米摄入 AFB1 的研究，我们的研究旨在评估该国市场上大米中 AFB1 的水平，并确定人群对这种致癌代谢物的估计每日暴露量及其相关的肝癌风险。从阿联酋零售市场采购了两次所有白色、棕色和半熟大米品牌。使用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）方法，在 128 个大米样本中检测到 48 个（38%）含有 AFB1。阳性样本（高于检测限）中 AFB1 的平均污染±标准差为 1.66±0.89μg/kg，范围为 1μg/kg（检测限）至 4.69μg/kg。所有样本的污染水平均低于海湾合作委员会标准化组织（≤5μg/kg）设定的限量，而 10 个（20.8%）阳性样本的污染水平高于欧盟（≥2μg/kg）设定的最高限量。所有评估样本的水分含量均≤14%。此外，两次采集的样本中 AFB1 存在显著差异（-值=0.043）。然而，大米类型、粒径、包装国家、包装季节、原产国、采集季节和包装到购买时间对 AFB1 没有显著影响。阿联酋人口从食用大米中摄入 AFB1 的平均每日暴露水平为 4.83ng/kg。
