อะฟลาทอกซินในถั่วลิสง: ข้อเสนอวิธีแก้ปัญหา

Abstract

Contamination of peanuts by aflatoxins, the carcinogenic mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, has been a chronic problem in Thailand. This article presented the general knowledge of aflatoxins, their harms, factors affecting the fungal infection and aflatoxin contamination in peanuts and proposed a solution of the problem throughout the peanut production chain and its consumption. The solution should consist of encouraging growers to follow the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in peanut production, enforcing the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standard on peanut shellers, enforcing the regulation and limits of aflatoxin contamination of raw shelled peanuts to ensure their quality and safety in both domestic and imported products, educating the home and local industries of the quality control system in their peanut processing, improving the production process of crushed roasted peanut and classifying it as restricted food commodity. Consumers should also be well informed about the aflatoxin toxicity and how to avoid consuming peanut products that are contaminated at the unsafe levels. Keywords: aflatoxin contamination, carcinogenic mycotoxins , Good Agricultural Practices