Última alteração: 2025-07-07
Resumo
Introduction: Corn and peanuts are staple foods and key economic resources for many households in Mozambique, mostly cultivated under subsistence farming and often stored inadequately, enhancing fungi that produce mycotoxins, which pose significant health threats to both human and animals.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the fungal contamination in corn and peanuts stored and traded locally in the southern region of Mozambique.
Methodology: The study was conducted across three Southern Mozambique provinces: Maputo city, Gaza and Inhambane. In total, 136 samples (61 corn and 75 peanuts) were randomly collected from local markets during February and March 2024. Fungal enumeration and identification were performed following international standards.
Results: Total fungal contamination was detected in 59/61 (96.7%) corn samples, with a mean load of 1.73×10⁴ CFU/g. Among peanut samples, 68/75 (90.7%) tested positive, with a mean load of 5.64×10³ CFU/g. Corn showed contamination in 90.5% (19/21) samples from Gaza, 100% from Inhambane (23/23) and Maputo City (17/17), whereas for peanuts contamination was observed in 94.4% (17/18) samples from Gaza, 81.8% (27/33) from Inhambane, and 100% (24/24) from Maputo City. The fungal genera identified in corn were Aspergillus (91.8%), Rhizopus (83.6%), Trichoderma (18%), Fusarium (13.1%), Penicillium (8.2%) and Cladosporium (1.6%). Peanuts were contaminated with Aspergillus (68%), Rhizopus (34.7%), Penicillium (30.7%), Trichoderma (17.3%), and Fusarium (12%). Thermo-resistant fungi were detected in 85.7% of corn (1.31×10⁴ CFU/g) and 87.7% of peanut (1.65×10³ CFU/g) samples. Among thermo-resistant fungi, the most common genera were Aspergillus in both corn (80.4%) and peanuts (53.8%), and the least common were Penicillium (3.6%) and Cladosporium (3.6%) for corn and Trichoderma (1.5%) for peanuts.
Conclusions: The dominance of toxigenic genera, especially in thermo-resistant forms, suggests a substantial risk of mycotoxin exposure for consumers, underscoring the urgent need for improved awareness, training and regulation in food safety.
Key words: fungal contamination, mycotoxins, corn and peanuts, post-harvest storage, Mozambique