Abstract

The quality of maize stored using sack and roof storage methods was studied by investigating the presence of Fusarium, Aspergillus and Penicillium infections using qualitative methods in 130 maize samples that were randomly collected from the roof and sack storage facilities in Katumba ward, Rungwe district, Tanzania. Levels of fumonisins, aflatoxins, ochratoxins and T-2 toxins were determined using quantitative methods on selected 77 maize samples. It was found that 86% of the selected maize samples were infected by one, two or all of the three pathogenic fungi investigated, whereas 88% were contaminated by one, two or three types of the investigated mycotoxins. The average concentrations of the mycotoxins were as follows: 596.48 ± 38.85 μg/kg of aflatoxins, 745.73 ± 105.57 μg/kg of ochratoxins 87717.95 ± 14984.32 µg/kg (or 87.2 ± 15 mg/kg) of fumonisins, and 1803.77 ± 244.56 µg/kg (or 1.8 ± 0.241 mg/kg) of T-2 toxins. The concentrations of the mycotoxins were a lot higher than the internationally accepted levels. These observations indicated that in Katumba ward, maize stored using roof and sack storage methods was exposed to infection by Fusarium, Aspergillus and Penicillium species, and that the farm households were at risk of ill health due to the mycotoxins. 

Key words: Maize, storage, quality, fungi, mycotoxins, food security