Occurrence and dietary risk assessment of AFB1 in tomato and pepper pastes in Türkiye

Tomato and pepper pastes are essential ingredients in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines and contain beneficial health components. However, they may also contain toxic substances, such as aflatoxins. This study aimed to measure the levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in commercially branded and locally produced tomato and pepper pastes, and to determine the association between water activity (AW) and AFB1 contamination. Additionally, a risk assessment for AFB1 was conducted by calculating the estimated daily intake (EDI), margin of exposure (MOE), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. An evaluation of paste type (tomato or pepper) and source (branded or unlabeled) showed no statistically significant difference in AFB1 contamination (p>0.05). No statistically significant correlation was discovered between AW and AFB1 contamination in samples of tomato and pepper pastes (p>0.05). Evaluation of the data revealed that although the observed AFB1 levels were quite low, EDI, MOE, and HCC values were high. This may be due to the high daily consumption of tomato paste. Therefore, public health authorities must prevent AFB1 contamination in foods having high daily consumption. Legal limits of AFB1 contamination in such foods should be reduced as much as possible or not allowed at all.