ABSTRACT
Aflatoxin M[1] [AFM[1]] is an important mycotoxin frequently found in milk and dairy products. Dairy products and colostrums may be contaminated by aflatoxin M[1] when dairy cattle have fed with aflatoxin B[1]-contaminated feeds. This study was undertaken in a dairy farm around Tehran province to determine the presence and level of aflatoxin M[1] [AFM[1]] in spray dried and lyophilized colostrums samples. In this study, 25 spray dried and lyophilized colostrums samples were analyzed using competitive ELISA for determining the presence and levels of AFM[1]. AFM[1] was found in 76% of the colostrums samples. The range of contamination level was 16 ng/l to 1176 ng/l, [mean values was 213.37 ng/l]. Ninety two percent of the contaminated samples exceeded the maximum acceptable levels [50 ng/l, EU standard] and 8% exceeded 500 ng/l. Due to human health hazard and high occurrence of AFM[1] in colostrums samples, monitoring programs should be more extensive and frequent in Iran