Abstract
The dietary intake of aflatoxin was targeted at the adult Malaysian population aged 18 to 59 years using the Total Diet Studies (TDS) approach as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Data from the Malaysian Food Consumption Survey in 2003 was reviewed and 47 foods were selected based on bibliographical knowledge and on expertise of analysts specialized in the routine analysis of raw and processed products for aflatoxin. Taking into consideration variabilities in contaminants as a result of production and processing, the selected food was split into two food categories namely national food, which encompass processed foods and are likely to contain homogenous levels of contamination with respect to their production and/or processing methods; and regional foods, which are foods that are unprocessed and untransformed and therefore might contain heterogenous levels of contamination resulting from production and/or preparation method specific to the region. Based on these criteria, the initial food list consisting of 47 foods were further split into 28 foods categorized as national food and 19 foods categorized as regional food. Food samples from the food list were collected to represent the food consumption pattern and encompass all geographical areas in Malaysia, which included 6 regions (North, Central, South, East, Sabah and Sarawak) with each region having 3 sampling points. Sampling was performed at retail markets to ensure that the sampled products represent the foods available to the public. Collected samples were then prepared ‘as consumed’ based on individual food composite approach. Analysis of individually composited samples were then carried out using methods that have demonstrated its acceptability including adequacy of its limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy and precision. Based on the results of the analysis and information from the food consumption, the dietary exposure and risk from getting liver cancer of the Malaysian adult population will then be estimated.
