Fungal and Aflatoxin Contamination of Smoke Dried Catfish and African Bush Mango Seeds (Ogbono) Sold in Markets in Selected Processing Zones in Benue State, Nigeria

The aim of this research was to evaluate the fungal and aflatoxin content of smoke dried catfish and African bush mango seeds obtained from selected processing zones in Benue State, Nigeria. Thirty two smoke dried catfish samples and forty eight African bush mango seed samples were collected from different markets in Makurdi, Katsina-Ala, Ogbadibo, Kwande and Vandeikya. These were analyzed for fungal load, fungi species and aflatoxin contamination using standard microbiological methods and ELISA technique for aflatoxin determination. The results revealed the presence of Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Clasdosporium spp, Penicillium spp, Mucorspp and Fusarium spp isolated from both smoke dried catfish and African bush mango seeds; also Rhizopus spp and Saccharomyces spp from bush mango seeds. Fungal count of smoke dried catfish from Makurdi ranged from 3.28 to 4.61 logCFU/ml while that of Katsina-Ala ranged from 4.26 to 4.98 log CFU/ml. The fungal count of African bush mango seeds ranged from 3.62 to 3.94 log CFU/ml (Kwande), 3.61 to 4.93 log CFU/ml (Makurdi), 3.61 to 4.85 log CFU/ml (Ogbadibo) and 4.08 to 4.89 logCFU/ml (Vandeikya). The aflatoxin concentration in the smoke dried catfish samples ranged from 4.10 to 15.00 ppb for samples from Makurdi and 2.05 to 7.45 ppb for samples from Katsina-Ala, while that of African bush mango seeds ranged from 1.75 to 3.25 ppb (Kwande), 0.00 to 1.50 ppb (Makurdi), 1.08 to 8.10 ppb (Ogbadibo) and 0.00 to 1.65 ppb (Vandeikya). Both the smoke dried catfish and African bush mango seeds had aflatoxin levels below the maximum acceptable limit of 20ppb by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control which can be considered safe, but hygienic measures must be maintained in handling such foods and better drying and preservation techniques applied in order to lower the incidence of fungi growth and aflatoxin contamination.