Exploring Aflatoxin Contamination in Nigerian Vegetables: A Comprehensive Review of Current Insights, Drivers, and Management Strategies

Abstract

Aflatoxins are cancer-causing secondary metabolites of Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Aflatoxins are toxic mycotoxins that are a significant food safety issue globally, especially in tropical and subtropical regions like Nigeria, where environmental conditions are favorable for fungal growth. Chronic dietary exposure to aflatoxin has the potential to cause severe health problems, particularly among pregnant women and children, such as stunted growth, immune suppression, and hepatocellular carcinoma risk. Whereas cereal and legume contamination with aflatoxins has been well researched, vegetables remain a less studied crop and a new target for aflatoxin infestation. Vegetables stored in traditional storage facilities are the most vulnerable to higher amounts of aflatoxins. Fresh and dried vegetables have recently been known to contain a wide presence of aflatoxins contamination attributable to inadequate good farming practices, inferior post-harvest handling, unhygienic drying, poor storage facilities, and weak regulation enforcement. In this review, there is a summary of current information on the prevalence, sources, risk factors, detection, and public health effect of aflatoxin contamination of vegetables in Nigeria. It also identifies new options for mitigation, such as the use of Aflasafe, improved solar and mechanical dryers, and inexpensive, rapid detection kits suitable for farmers' markets and decentralized markets. The review calls for a joint, multi-stakeholder action among farmers, traders, consumers, scientists, and policymakers to reduce aflatoxin contamination in Nigeria. Raising awareness, strengthening food safety infrastructure, and regulation enforcement are essential factors in decreasing aflatoxin concentrations and enhancing vegetable safety in the Nigerian food system.