World Mycotoxin Journal | 2019
Inadequate management of complementary foods contributes to the risk of aflatoxin exposure and low nutrition status among children
Abstract
Early exposure to aflatoxins through complementary food is linked to impaired growth in childhood. The current study assessed the household’s practices on management of complementary foods in relation to the risk of aflatoxin exposure and poor nutritional status among infant and young children in Tanzania. A cross-sectional study of complementary feeding practices, aflatoxin exposure and nutritional status was conducted to 101 infants and young children aged between 6-23 months in Dodoma region of Tanzania. The intake of complementary food was estimated by using repeated 24 h dietary recall. Flour used as complementary food was sampled from each of the 101 families and aflatoxins were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography. A deterministic approach was used to estimate dietary exposure of aflatoxins in the complementary foods. Anthropometric measurements were taken and rates of stunting, underweight and wasting estimated according to the WHO standard procedures. Multivariate logistic regres...