Browsing by Author "Gashaw, Habtamu"

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    Aflatoxin Content of Red Pepper (Capsicum annum L.) in Relation to Quality Grading and Storage Duration
    (Addis Ababa University, 2014-05) Gashaw, Habtamu; Abate, Dawit (PhD); Gashu, Dawd (PhD)
    Aj/atoxin, a contaminant produced by the fungi Aspergillus j/avus and Aspergillus parasiticus in several agricultural commodities, is a known human liver carcinogen. Red pepper is widely consumed in Ethiopia and this agricultural commodity is known to be susceptible to aj/atoxin contamination. In this research, aj/atoxin contamination of whole and ground red pepper in relation with storage duration and quality grading and the magnitude of the contamination in grounded red pepper were studied. Samples were collected from farmers and wholesalers and Aj/atoxins were determined using HP Le. Whole red pepper samples stored for three months shows low aj/atoxin contamination compared to red pepper samples stored for six months (p<0.05).The mean aj/atoxin content increases from 19.56 pg/kg to 78.83pg/kg within three months of storage after harvest. Low quality graded red pepper showed significantly high level of contamination (p<0.05) compared to high quality graded red pepper. The mean aj/atoxin content found was 78.8 pg/kgfor Gradel, 160.11 pg/kgfor Grade 2 and 312.33 pg/kgfor Grade 3. The highest aj/atoxin content was found in the least grade level (Grade 3) with a concentration of 399.19pg/kg individual values ranges from 70.80 pg/kg to 399.19 pg/kg. The amount of aj/atoxin in grounded red pepper traded in retail stores ranges from 18.37pg/kg to 158.87pg/kg with a mean of 66.34pg/kg. All the grounded samples surpassed the maximum level set by the European Commission (10 pg/kg) for total aj/atoxins and (5pg/kg) for aj/atoxin B1. The observed practices of sprinkling water on whole red pepper I'nd.~ hy merchants was identified as possible factor for high level of contamination. The result of this study demonstrates that aj/atoxin contamination in red pepper is high and could be a health threat. The level of contamination is distinct with respect to quality. As a result, the practice of the merchants should be taken in to account when dealing with aj/atoxin management for red pepper in Ethiopia. Moreover, the use of high quality red peppers should be practiced whenever possible as Grade J red peppers shows relatively low aj/atoxin contamination compared to red pepper traded as Grade 2 and Grade 3. Key words: Red pepper, fungi, mycotoxins, aj/atoxins, storage duration, quality grade level