Research agency develops low-cost device to detect aflatoxins

A city-based crop research institute today said it has developed the first portable low- cost device for rapid detection of aflatoxins, toxic substances produced by mould fungi which can cause liver and other cancers in humans.
The new technology that detects aflatoxins on location, can save lives and open export markets for African and Asian countries, a release from International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) said.
The rapid test kit device is also affordable - available for under USD 2. Combined with a mobile extraction kit that will be ready in two months, it will be the first portable cost-effective way for farmers and others to detect aflatoxins instantly, it said.

The institute developed the device with funding from the McKnight Foundation and in collaboration with a host of partners, including the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi, Farmers Union Malawi (FUM), Kamuzu Central Hospital and Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi.
It is a simple non-laboratory based kit that can be used directly by non-technical people such as farmers, agro-dealers and food processors. Currently, the test can be applied to detect aflatoxins in groundnuts.
The test kit was launched today by Wilkson Makumba, Director, Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS), at ICRISAT-Malawi. It requires limited technical knowledge or training and can be done on location, it said.

The rapid detection is useful for public health authorities to help identify suspected samples in cases of an outbreak of aflatoxin poisoning.

"The device will contribute to manage and reduce the entry of aflatoxins in the food value chains, improve diagnosis for local and export trade and support the food processing industry to maintain low exposure levels in food products in our local as well as for export markets," said Anitha Seetha, Scientist, ICRISAT, Malawi.
Aflatoxins are carcinogenic. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that 25 per cent of all crops in the world are affected by the poisonous chemical.

The WHO recently estimated that in 2010 around 20,000 people died globally from aflatoxin poisoning and an equal number fell ill.
Groundnut, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, chilies, pistachios, cassava and other food products are contaminated by aflatoxins each year.
The toxic substances not only affect human and livestock health but can also marketability of food products, the release said.