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- carcinogenic fungus found in the food crops particularly in Maize and peanuts
- Africa loses almost 670million US dollars annually to Aflatoxin infections
Tanzania’s export potential of agro products has been hampered by the presence of deadly carcinogenic fungus found in the food crops particularly in Maize and peanut. Aflatoxin in crops is a poisonous fungus that may cause cancer. A common fungus in soils and crop debris, attacks maize and peanut crops in the field, during harvest and grows to the storage and produces a toxic chemical. Any amount of heating or boiling does not make the food crops safe for consumption. The Contaminated maize or groundnuts fail to clear the international market standards for food safety as consumers are prone to liver diseases, cancer and lethal poisoning. It also causes lowered immunity and irreversible stunting in children. Livestock that consumes contaminated feed also get affected and can pass it on to humans and other animals.
Addressing members of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Environment in Dodoma yesterday, Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade) Director-General Edwin Rutageruka said the government was training farmers and extension officers to adopt safer methods than the traditional way of drying the crops.
According to reports, Africa loses almost 670million US dollars annually to Aflatoxin infections on cereals, grains, and legumes. Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) made some breakthrough and formulated, Aflasafe, a natural solution of four fungal strains to fight aflatoxin.
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