Occurrence of Zearalenone in raw animal origin food produced in North-West of Iran

Introduction: Zearalenone is a mycotoxin compound produced mainly by the Fusarium species of fungi which is present in several types of foods. The purpose of this study was to determine the zearalenone in raw animal origin food produced in North-West of Iran. Materials and methods: From June to December 2012, a total of 210 samples (containing 70 raw milk, 70 meat and 70 liver) were obtained from female buffaloes in the North-West regions of Iran. Samples were analyzed by ELISA method. Results: The zearalenone was found in 92 of the 210 samples (43.80%). Significant differences in the mean values of zearalenone was observed between milk, meat and liver samples (p < 0.05). The highest mean level of zearalenone was observed in liver samples (2.37±1.18 ng/g), followed by milk (1.34±1.42 ng/ml) and meat (0.79±1.27 ng/g) samples. The overall contamination rate during autumn was significantly more than summer (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the occurrence of zearalenone contamination in the buffalo milk, meat and liver samples were low in this region of Iran, most probably because of the uncontaminated feed given to water buffalo. However, it seems that the most practical way to minimizing mycotoxin production and contamination of the food supply, is the development of methods to control their formation, or the development of newer methods to detoxify or decontaminate the affected food.