Aflatoxin is one of the main ingredients in moldy food, produced by Aspergillus flavus. Our daily food, such as corn, peanuts, soybeans, etc. are prone to mold in hot and humid weather, and a layer of green fluffy stuff appears, which is Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus flavus produces aflatoxin.
What is the harm of aflatoxin?
The WHO classified aflatoxin as a Class 1 carcinogen as early as 1993. Research statistics show that about 4.5-5.5 billion people worldwide are chronically exposed to aflatoxin-contaminated food. Every year, there are about 550,000-600,000 new liver cancer patients worldwide, and 80% of them are concentrated in developing countries and regions such as Asia and Africa. About 25200-155000 million (4.6%-28.2%) of all liver cancer patients may be attributed to aflatoxin.
It has been proved that good aflatoxin prevention can reduce the occurrence of liver cancer.
The Qidong area used to be a high incidence area of liver cancer, partly due to the local preference for eating seafood pickled products, and after these years of publicity and science. Now the incidence of liver cancer has dropped significantly. Liver cancer is no longer the number one cancer in the region.
How can we destroy aflatoxin? What about removing aflatoxin?
Aspergillus flavus is very tenacious, the general disinfection methods can not kill it, even 100 ℃ high temperature heating for 20 hours can not take it. Moreover, Aspergillus flavus spreads and multiplies through spores, making it easy for the surrounding food to be contaminated by the implication. Aflatoxin is an odorless, tasteless, colorless compounds, extremely toxic, very stable. It can only be decomposed and decontaminated by burning and frying at high temperatures above 280°C.
So which foods contain aflatoxin?
1.Part of moldy grains
Aflatoxin is hidden in moldy food, especially food with high starch content, such as peanuts, corn, etc., once moldy aflatoxin content is very high, there are rice, millet, beans that we often eat once moldy will also contain aflatoxin. That is to say, rice spoiled also contains aflatoxin. Once the rice has an odor do not eat again, because it already contains aflatoxin, so people who love to eat leftovers are more likely to be infected with aflatoxin.
2, bitter nuts
Once the nuts have deteriorated will also produce aflatoxin, so usually once you eat the tasteless nuts must be spit out, this is not a small thing Oh, 1 mg aflatoxin is carcinogenic!
3, not washed chopsticks
Chopsticks themselves will not grow aflatoxin, but we may usually eat peanut corn with chopsticks, these food residues will be impregnated into the chopsticks crevices of mold and mildew produced aflatoxin. Oncology hospital doctor told us that some young people’s early liver cancer may be related to the use of chopsticks, stainless steel chopsticks, which is actually a very good countermeasure.
4, poor quality sesame butter peanut butter
This is easier to understand but also easier to be ignored, many black-hearted businessmen will use bad peanuts as raw materials for commercial interests, if it contains moldy peanuts there must be aflatoxin, which is the same food that we usually can not ignore, so choose the big brands are more guaranteed some.
5, small workshops of self-extracted oil
If the raw material of the oil contains moldy peanuts or corn production out of the oil will contain aflatoxin. The production process of small workshops is too simple lack of process to remove aflatoxin, which is on the one hand or more importantly, to maximize profits and ignore the quality of raw materials, so buy oil should also be set to have the guarantee and reputation of the big brands.
6. Long-soaked fungus
The fungus soaked for a long time will also produce aflatoxin, after washing you may not see any difference with the normal.