FUNGI CONTAMINATION AND AFLATOXIN DETECTION IN RICE (ORYZA SATIVA) SOLD IN THREE MARKETS IN ONAARA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IBADAN

Mycotoxins are toxic natural contaminants of food especially grains like rice and areproduced by various fungi from Aspergillus, Alternaria, Fusarium, andPenicillium genera.This study aimed to determine the mycotoxin content of rice sold in major markets in Ona-Ara Local Government, Ibadan. Isolation and identification of fungal contaminants was doneusing the spread plate method and morphology characteristics respectively, while aflatoxincontent was determined using the ELISA method. A total of thirty- four (34) fungal isolatesbelonging to two (2) genera and three (3) species were identified namely; Aspergillusflavus,Aspergillusniger, and Penicilliumspp. Aspergillusflavuswas the most frequently isolated fungifrom rice samples obtained from Akanran while Penicilliumspp. was the most frequentlyisolated fungi from rice samples obtained from Amuloko. AspergillusflavusandAspergillusnigerwere the most frequently occurring fungal isolates with 35.30% each, whilePenicilliumspp. was the least occurring with 29.41%. Aflatoxin residue level for Sample B(2.2ppb) was belovw the maximum permissible residue limit for all cereals including rice andMaize for direct human consumption (4ppb) while aflatoxin residue level for Sample G(6.4ppb) was above maximum permissible residue limit of 4 ppb. The presence of aflatoxinsin rice sold in the study area could endanger the health of the public and lead to foodinsecurity. To reduce the incidence of fungi and the presence of aflatoxins in rice, thegovernment and public should improve storage facilities, strengthen regulatory oversight, andtrain farmers and vendors on good agronomic and post-harvest practices.