Assessment of Aflatoxin M1 Concentrations During Production and Long Storage of Salted (Tuzlu) Yogurt

In this survey, it was aimed to determine the concentration of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk during the production and storage of salted (tuzlu) yogurt using High Performance Liquid Chromatography ( HPLC). Salted (tuzlu) yogurt was produced artificially from contaminated milk with AFM1 at two different levels (0.05 μg/l and 0.1 μg/l). Y ogurt and strained yogurt production caused losses of AFM1 about 65%, 70.25% and 73.75%, 81.12% respectively, in milk contaminated with 0.05 μg/l AFM1, and 0.1 μg/l AFM1. Also, it was determined that the storage process of the salted (tuzlu) yogurt (90 days) decreases the AFM1 content of the salted (tuzlu) yogurt by 0.019 and 0.027 μg/l (0.05 μg/l and 0.1 μg/l AFM1 respectively). Difference among dates in storage period was found to be statistically significant (P<0.01). S alted (tuzlu) yogurt has long shelf life and high heat processing, and AFM1 is not completely lost in both levels