First evidence on occurrence, and risk assessment of EU-regulated mycotoxins along the cassava value chain in Uganda

First evidence on occurrence, and risk assessment of EU-regulated mycotoxins along the cassava value chain in Uganda | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article First evidence on occurrence, and risk assessment of EU-regulated mycotoxins along the cassava value chain in Uganda Elias Oyesigye, Carla Cervini, Abimbola Oluwakayode, George Mahuku, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4603858/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in Mycotoxin Research → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of EU-regulated mycotoxins (aflatoxin B 1 , B 2 , G 1 , G 2 , fumonisins B 1 , B 2 , ochratoxin A (OTA), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), and citrinin (CIT) in cassava products, as well as assess the potential risk of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB 1 ) exposure among cassava consumers. A total of 192 samples of cassava products (flour and chips) were analysed using LC/MS-MS. All positive samples irrespective of their origin(flour or chips), exhibited AFB 1 levels exceeding the EU regulatory threshold of 5 µg/kg. The sum of fumonisins-FB 1 + FB 2 , ZEN and DON were significantly ( P < 0.05 ) higher in cassava flour (14.3 µg/kg; 3.71 µg/kg; 25.1 µg/kg) compared to chips (6.54 µg/kg; 1.25 µg/kg; 0.25 µg/kg), respectively. Aflatoxins G 2 was not detected in all the 192 samples analysed. Cassava flour samples from farmers exhibited significantly ( P < 0.05 ) higher mean concentrations of AFB 1 (27.1 µg/kg), total aflatoxins (78.2 µg/kg) and ochratoxin A (79.6 µg/kg) in contrast to wholesalers, whose mean levels were notably lower at 8.91, 5.79 µg/kg and 2.44 µg/kg, respectively, pointing the likely critical source of mycotoxin contamination. Cassava consumers in Northern Uganda are at a higher risk of 2.06 cancer cases per 100,000 individuals per year compared to those in Eastern Uganda at 0.25. This study underscores the urgent need for improving storage practices of cassava flour at the household level, especially in Northern Uganda, recognises a shift from the conventional practice of sampling in market areas to household-level samples, and emphasises the need for analytical methods that target more than one mycotoxin. Mycotoxins cassava risk assessment LC/MS-MS analysis Uganda Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in Mycotoxin Research → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 11 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 10 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 02 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Jun, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Jun, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 26 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 26 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 19 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4603858","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":325618533,"identity":"938606ae-0504-4ae4-a902-b030e2d2d362","order_by":0,"name":"Elias 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A total of 192 samples of cassava products (flour and chips) were analysed using LC/MS-MS. All positive samples irrespective of their origin(flour or chips), exhibited AFB\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e levels exceeding the EU regulatory threshold of 5 \u0026micro;g/kg. The sum of fumonisins-FB\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;FB\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, ZEN and DON were significantly (\u003cem\u003eP\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/em\u003e) higher in cassava flour (14.3 \u0026micro;g/kg; 3.71 \u0026micro;g/kg; 25.1 \u0026micro;g/kg) compared to chips (6.54 \u0026micro;g/kg; 1.25 \u0026micro;g/kg; 0.25 \u0026micro;g/kg), respectively. Aflatoxins G\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e was not detected in all the 192 samples analysed. Cassava flour samples from farmers exhibited significantly (\u003cem\u003eP\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05\u003c/em\u003e) higher mean concentrations of AFB\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e (27.1 \u0026micro;g/kg), total aflatoxins (78.2 \u0026micro;g/kg) and ochratoxin A (79.6 \u0026micro;g/kg) in contrast to wholesalers, whose mean levels were notably lower at 8.91, 5.79 \u0026micro;g/kg and 2.44 \u0026micro;g/kg, respectively, pointing the likely critical source of mycotoxin contamination. Cassava consumers in Northern Uganda are at a higher risk of 2.06 cancer cases per 100,000 individuals per year compared to those in Eastern Uganda at 0.25. This study underscores the urgent need for improving storage practices of cassava flour at the household level, especially in Northern Uganda, recognises a shift from the conventional practice of sampling in market areas to household-level samples, and emphasises the need for analytical methods that target more than one mycotoxin.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"First evidence on occurrence, and risk assessment of EU-regulated mycotoxins along the cassava value chain in Uganda","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-07-18 16:36:31","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4603858/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-07-11T10:39:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-07-10T09:32:39+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-07-02T08:58:08+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"232582746474342526412486191522870457053","date":"2024-06-29T16:19:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"27393082561531762938168314573866675947","date":"2024-06-29T10:20:35+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-06-27T09:53:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-06-26T16:41:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-06-26T16:39:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Mycotoxin Research","date":"2024-06-19T07:06:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"mycotoxin-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"myre","sideBox":"Learn more about [Mycotoxin Research](http://link.springer.com/journal/12549)","snPcode":"12550","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12550/3","title":"Mycotoxin Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b8a0c1b6-6565-42dc-97ab-8888f26dc971","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 18th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-09-23T16:12:09+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4603858","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-024-00556-z","journal":{"identity":"mycotoxin-research","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Mycotoxin Research"},"publishedOn":"2024-09-17 15:58:13","publishedOnDateReadable":"September 17th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-07-18 16:36:31","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s12550-024-00556-z","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-024-00556-z","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4603858","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4603858","identity":"rs-4603858","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}