Reduction of Aflatoxin M₁ from Artificially Contaminated Milk Using Ultrafiltration and Diafiltration

The effect of ultrafiltration‐diafiltration (UF‐DF) on removal of aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) from raw whole, homogenized and acidified milk was studied. Milk was artificially augmented with concentrations of AFM₁ varying from 0.5 to 3.5 μg/L. The removal of AFM₁ was influenced (p<0.05) by the initial concentration and the homogenization process. Homogenization and acidification decreased the removal of AFM, from milk. The UF‐DF process did not result in concentrates within permissible residual levels at any concentration studied. However, reconstituted retentates had residual levels of AFM₁ < 0.5 μg/L resulting from milk originally containing up to 2 μg/L.