Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
FRESENIUS ENVIRONMENTAL BULLETIN, cilt.19, sa.11, ss.2523-2527, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
The aim of this study was to investigate the aflatoxin, nitrate and nitrite levels in commercial cat and dog foods. For this purpose, 50 different cat (25 imported, 25 local) and 50 different dog food (25 imported, 25 local) were screened (aflatoxin analysis performed by TLC and nitrate-nitrite by spectrophotometric methods). According to the results, none of the cat foods had aflatoxin contamination whereas in two local and one imported dog food sample 5.33, 8 and 8 ppb of AFB I were found, respectively. Nitrate-nitrite amounts in 100 samples were found to be lower than safety levels. Nitrate content of local dog food was found to be 0.009 +/- 0.001 (0.001-0.042) ppm, in cat food 0.017 +/- 0.002 (0.003-0.043) ppm, imported dog food 0.007 +/- 0.001 (0.002-0.047) ppm, and in cat food 0.007 +/- 0.001 (0.001-0.038) ppm. Nitrite content of local dog food was found to be 0.008 +/- 0.001 (0.001-0.035) ppm, in cat food 0.015 +/- 0.002 (0.001-0.044) ppm, in imported dog food 0.011 +/- 0.002 (0.002-0.053) ppm, and in cat food 0.009 +/- 0.001(0.001-0.036) ppm. The statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences between the local and imported dog food concerning the nitrate-nitrite amounts (P>0.05), whereas in cat foods this difference was found more significant (P<0.01). These results showed that the amounts of aflatoxin and nitrate-nitrite in local and imported cat and dog food in Turkey were found below the safety levels.