In the framework of the first multi-centre Sub-Saharan Africa Total Diet Study (SSA-TDS), 2328 commonly consumed foods were purchased, prepared as consumed and pooled into 194 composite samples of cereals, tubers, legumes, vegetables, nuts and seeds, dairy, oils, beverages and miscellaneous. Those core foods were tested for mycotoxins and other fungal, bacterial and plant secondary metabolites by liquid chromatography, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The highest aflatoxin concentrations were quantified in peanuts, peanut oil and maize. The mean concentration of the sum of aflatoxins AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2 (AFtot) in peanut samples (56.4 µg/kg) exceeded EU (4 µg/kg) and Codex (15 µg/kg) standards. The AFtot concentration (max: 246.0 µg/kg) was associated with seasonal and geographic patterns and comprised, on...

As part of the first multi-centre Sub-Saharan Africa Total Diet Study, 660 typical foods from Benin, Cameroon, Mali, and Nigeria were purchased, prepared according to local consumption habits, and pooled into 55 composite samples. These core foods were tested for 15 + 1 EU priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which were quantified by isotope dilution and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The sum of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and chrysene (PAH4) represented 77% of the 13 genotoxic and carcinogenic PAHs. The highest PAH4 concentration was quantified in sea and fresh water smoked fish (mean: 179.7 μg/kg; max: 560.4 μg/kg) and the PAH4 in all smoked fish composite samples exceeded the EU maximum limit of 12 μg/kg. Further, PAH4 in edible oils (including...

In the framework of the first regional Total Diet Study in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3696 foodstuffs, commonly consumed in Benin, Cameroon, Mali and Nigeria were purchased, prepared as consumed and pooled into 308 composite samples. Those core foods were tested for up to 470 pesticides residues by liquid and gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. 39 pesticides were detected with 294 total occurrences, including 47.3% organophosphate pesticides and 35.7% pyrethroids. More specifically, 6 substances represented 75.5% of all 3 organophosphates and 3 pyrethroids: chlorpyrifos (22.4%) cypermethrin (18.0%) dichlorvos (13.6%), lambdacyhalothrin (8.2%), permethrin (7.5%) and profenofos (5.8%).  One pesticide or more was detected in 45.8% of samples. Strikingly, several pesticides were quantified in 2 composite samples of smoked fish from Mali: chlorpyrifos (5236–18 084μg/kg),...