ABSTRACT
Controlling aflatoxins in maize in Africa: strategies, challenges and opportunities for improvement Amare Ayalew and Martin Kimanya, Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa, Ethiopia; Limbikani Matumba, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi; Ranajit Bandyopadhayay and Abebe Menkir, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria; and Peter Cotty, USDA-ARS, USA
1 Introduction
2 Aflatoxin contamination in maize
3 Pre-harvest aflatoxin control
4 Preventing post-harvest aflatoxin contamination
5 Removing aflatoxin contamination
6 Detoxification
7 Role of policy and public awareness in aflatoxin control
8 Conclusion and future trends
9 Where to look for further information
10 References
Maize (Zea mays) is the most important food staple in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), accounting for up to 70% of the total human calorific intake (Byerlee and Hiesey, 1996; Martin et al., 2000). In southern Africa, per capita annual consumption of maize remains well over 100 kg, with countries such as Malawi and South Africa being reported to have reached as high as 181 kg and 195 kg, respectively (CIMMYT, 1999). Trends indicate that the production and consumption of maize in Africa will continue to grow in the next couple of decades (Wu et al., 2011).
