Identification of Fungi Associated with Hazelnuts and Determination of Their Mycotoxin

Abstract

Abstract To analyze natural mycoflora of hazelnuts in Sulaimani province of Iraq, this study conducted by collecting 33 (27 raw hazelnut kernel and 6 hazelnut paste) samples and determine their mycotoxin. Polyphasic approach consisting of morphological examination and molecular characterization based on Polymerase Chain Reaction (species specific PCR) was performed fungi identification. For the incidence of aflatoxins (AFs) the hazelnuts samples were analyzed by ELISA technique. The results show that 20 sample (60.6%) (18 raw hazelnut kernel and 2 hazelnut paste) were contaminated with three main genera of fungi, namely Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopusin. From Aspergillus, A. flavus and A. parasiticus were the dominant. In AFs analysis, AFs detected in all (100%) of these contaminated hazelnut samples with various level ranged from 9.9 to 10.7 µg kg−1 for raw hazelnut kernel samples and ranged from 10.2 to 13.9 µg kg−1 for hazelnut paste samples. AF contamination level of all of them exceeded the legal limits set by EC. Investigations for aflatoxin quantification and fungus contamination in more number of samples must be conducted to ensure safety of such kinds of food.