Aflatoxicological Risk of Home-Made Complementary Food Formulae And Caregivers’ Competency for Mitigation: the Case of Amuru and Nwoya Districts, Uganda
| dc.contributor.author | Achiro Eunice | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-09-30T08:31:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-09-30T08:31:11Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT The safety of home-made complementary foods is one of the critical factors that impact negatively on nutrition outcomes among children in rural areas in low- and middle-income countries including Uganda. This study examined the aflatoxicological safety of a home-made Malted Millet Sesame Soy composite (MMSSC) complementary food and caregiver’s competency for mitigation in Acholi sub-region of Uganda. Specifically, the study: (i) examined along the processing points of the MMSSC across wet and dry season, the prevalence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species, aflatoxin contamination, and exposure of children to aflatoxin; and (ii) cross-sectionally assessed caregivers’ food safety knowledge (FSK), attitude (FSA), and hygiene practices (FHP) and influence of caregivers’ competence on contamination levels. Descriptive statistics and multivariate binary logistic regression was used to analyze quantitative data and thematic content analysis for qualitative data. Pearson Chi-square was used to compare the prevalence of Aspergillus species and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan’s post-ANOVA test for mean comparison of aflatoxin concentrations. The t-test was used to assess differences in means and pair-wise correlation analysis to test for the significance of the correlation. Overall prevalence of Aspergillus species was low (7.3%) but was highest in the wet than dry season by 39 %. All raw materials and processed products (100 %) had detectable levels of total aflatoxin (TAF: 0.578μgkg-1 - 1.187μgkg-1) and aflatoxin B1(AFB1: 0.221μgkg-1- 0.649μgkg-1 ) irrespective of the processing point, and in all cases, contamination was below the European Commission (EC) maximum tolerable levels for TAF (0.4 μgkg-1) and AFB1 ( 0.1μgkg-1). The average exposure of children (15.7 ± 12.6 ngkg-1bwday-1) was much higher than the Provisional Maximum Tolerable Dietary Intake for aflatoxin (0.4ngkg-1 bwday-1 - 1.0 ngkg-1bwday-1). In terms of competency, most caregivers had sufficient FSK (74.1%) and positive FSA (68.1%) but only 17.6% practiced FH largely due to inadequate sanitation facilities and high work load. FSK and FHP were associated (positively) with aflatoxin contamination and exposure of children dependent on the processing point and season (P ≤ 0.05). The highest aflatoxin contamination and exposure were in households that had insufficient FSK and poor FHP. This study has demonstrated that home-made MMSSC is aflatoxicologically unsafe. Thus, a concerted effort is needed to improve FSK and FHP to minimize aflatoxin contamination of MMSSC and exposure of children. | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Self Sponsordhip | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14270/956 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Gulu University | |
| dc.subject | FATOXICOLOGICAL RISK | |
| dc.subject | HOME-MADE | |
| dc.subject | FOOD FORMULAE | |
| dc.subject | CAREGIVERS | |
| dc.subject | COMPETENCY | |
| dc.title | Aflatoxicological Risk of Home-Made Complementary Food Formulae And Caregivers’ Competency for Mitigation: the Case of Amuru and Nwoya Districts, Uganda | |
| dc.type | Thesis |