Effect of malting and roasting on reduction of aflatoxin in contaminated soybeans

The effect of malting and roasting on the reduction of aflatoxin in contaminated soybeans was studied. Through the observation of the malting process of contaminated and noncontaminated beans it was found that aflatoxin brought about 50% reduction on germination percentage and radicle length of malts. Malting appeared to have a minimal effect in lowering the aflatoxin content of the soybean and aflatoxin G-1 was more affected than B-1 by the treatment. The contaminated samples of nonmalted, steeped and malted soybeans were roasted at 150 ° C and 180 ° C. Roasting at 180 ° C reduced the levels of aflatoxin by 40 to 73 percent depending on the sample nature. Roasting of both steeped and malted beans was much less effective in the reduction of the toxin levels than that of nonmalted beans and in all cases aflatoxin B-1 was more heat resistant than aflatoxin G-1.Present address: North Dakota State University, Cereal Chem. & Techn., Fargo, ND 58105, USA