# Aflatoxin levels in dried figs export from Turkey **Authors:** Engin Yarali, Ulku Ulken, Rahsan Pehlivan PMC · DOI: 10.1007/s12550-026-00644-2 · Mycotoxin Research · 2026-02-28 ## TL;DR This study analyzed aflatoxin levels in dried figs exported from Turkey and found that a small percentage exceeded EU safety limits. ## Contribution The study provides recent data on aflatoxin contamination in dried fig exports from Aydın province, Turkey. ## Key findings - 50.2% of 2024 samples and 19.5% of 2025 samples contained detectable aflatoxin levels. - 2.2% and 2.7% of samples in 2024 and 2025, respectively, exceeded EU aflatoxin limits. - A total of 29 samples across both years were found above the EU upper aflatoxin limit. ## Abstract In this study, a total of 1253 dried fig samples were analyzed for aflatoxin contamination. 838 samples were collected during 2024, and 415 samples were collected during 2025 from different export companies in Aydın province in Turkey. Analyzes were carried out in an accredited laboratory operating in Aydın province and the HPLC-FLD method was used. While 172 (50.2%) of 838 dried fig samples examined in 2024 contained aflatoxin in the range of 0.43–60.73 µg/kg, 81 (19.5%) of 415 samples examined in 2025 contained aflatoxin in the range of 0.87–40.08 µg/kg. When 2024 and 2025 were evaluated together, detectable levels of aflatoxin were detected in a total of 253 dried fig samples, and 29 of them were found above the EU upper limits. The sample rate exceeding the EU upper limit on the basis of total fig samples is 2.2% and 2.7% for 2024 and 2025, respectively. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12550-026-00644-2. ## Full-text entities - **Diseases:** fungal (MESH:D009181), sunburn (MESH:D013471), toxicity (MESH:D064420), carcinogenic (MESH:D011230), food poisoning (MESH:D005517) - **Chemicals:** manganese (MESH:D008345), nitric acid (MESH:D017942), magnesium (MESH:D008274), calcium (MESH:D002118), aflatoxin G1 (MESH:C027955), potassium chloride (MESH:D011189), polyphenol (MESH:D059808), OTA (MESH:C025589), aflatoxin G2 (MESH:C029754), vitamin K. (MESH:D014812), zearalenone (MESH:D015025), potassium (MESH:D011188), fumonisins (MESH:D037341), AFDG1 (-), aflatoxin B2 (MESH:C029753), potassium bromide (MESH:C039004), copper (MESH:D003300), HCl (MESH:D006851), Aflatoxin (MESH:D000348), water (MESH:D014867), acid (MESH:D000143), sugar (MESH:D000073893), patulin (MESH:D010365), deoxynivalenol (MESH:C007262), methanol (MESH:D000432), AFB1 (MESH:D016604), NaCl (MESH:D012965) - **Species:** Aspergillus (genus) [taxon 5052], Claviceps (genus) [taxon 5110], Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Penicillium (genus) [taxon 5073], A. flavus [taxon 315677], Fungi (kingdom) [taxon 4751], Meleagris gallopavo (common turkey, species) [taxon 9103], Aspergillus parasiticus (species) [taxon 5067], Ficus carica (common fig, species) [taxon 3494] ## Full text _Full body text omitted from this summary view._ Fetch the complete paper as Markdown: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12950012/full.md ## References 9 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12950012/full.md --- Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12950012