Aflatoxin In Coconut Oil

Mittir

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Feb 20, 2013
Messages
2,033
I make my own coconut oil and never found any commercial product that i could
tolerate. I have tried several brands,but did not try refined oil.
I think Aflatoxin in coconut oil could be a possible
source of problem. I do not know if Aflatoxin is removed in all refined coconut oil.
But, there are methods that can remove Aflatoxin from coconut oil.

One study in Philippine found that 60 percent of the 25 samples had Aflatoxin at
an average rate of 3 microgram per KG and two refined coconut oil were free of it.
In India ,they found 5 to 100 mcg/kg aflatoxin in coconut oil .

Here are few links related to this issue.

The white meat from the coconut is dried directly or indirectly by various methods like sun-drying, tapahan or kukum method. High moisture copra can easily be contaminated with aflatoxin.

CARCINOGENICITY

Aflatoxin are known to be human carcinogens based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenocity in humans (IARC 1987, 1993). Aflatoxicoses is a poisoning resulting from ingestion of aflatoxin-contaminated food in feed. A case-control study in the Philippines, where mean aflatoxin contamination levels in dietary items were established and individual levels of aflatoxin consumption were determined retrospectively, demonstrated an increased, dose-related risk of developing hepatocellular cancer in persons with higher ingestion of aflatoxin.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/006/a ... 729e00.htm

Chemical Detoxification of Aflatoxin-containing Copra
ABSTRACT
Aflatoxin-containing copra at moisture contents of 24% and 7% was effectively detoxified by ammonium hydroxide (> 97% and 89% reduction, respectively). Detoxification was accomplished in 5 days using 1.5% ammonium hydroxide (ammonia/copra); in 10 days using 1.0% and in 15 days using 0.5%. The initial aflatoxin B1 concentration of 500 ppb (9% moisture) was reduced to ≤ 20 ppb. Detoxification trials using a screw expeller showed 67% reduction in aflatoxin content of the oil with 1.0% ammonia.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract

A pilot plant for detoxification of aflatoxin B1-contaminated coconut oil by solar irradiation

World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (Impact Factor: 1.35). 11/1985; 1(4):333-343. DOI: 10.1007/BF01553418
ABSTRACT In coconut oil naturally contaminated with aflatoxin B1, more than 85% of the toxin is present in the soluble form, the remainder occuring in the sediment. This aflatoxin is detoxified when the oil, in a static layer less than 15 mm thick is exposed to solar radiation. A pilot plant, designed to take account of the viscosity and flow characteristics of the oil, was constructed for the exposure of thin layers of oil (2 mm or less) flowing under gravity. At aflatoxin concentrations between 166 and 1250 jug/kg, 75% of the toxin was degraded on exposure to solar radiation of 10 cal/cm2; total detoxification was achieved on repeated exposure. The naturally contaminated coconut oil after exposure to solar radiation did not contain any residual aflatoxins or fluorescent compounds which might have been derived from original aflatoxin B1.http://www.researchgate.net/publication ... rradiation
 

XPlus

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Dec 16, 2014
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Is there a way to tell whether a brand is contaminated.
How do you make your coconut oil, Mittir.
And how do you make sure there's no Aflatoxin in it.
 
OP
M

Mittir

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Joined
Feb 20, 2013
Messages
2,033
XPlus said:
Is there a way to tell whether a brand is contaminated.
How do you make your coconut oil, Mittir.
And how do you make sure there's no Aflatoxin in it.

I think USDA checks for Aflatoxin content in imported coconut oil,
this forces foreign producers to adopt methods to remove this.
I believe these are mostly removed in refining process.
I remember getting seriously sick for few days after trying
Nutiva organic virgin coconut oil. I tried one food grade refined brand and i did not have
any health issue but i did not like the taste of it. I never tried pharmaceutical
grade refined one. That is why i started making my own.
I do not know if there is way to tell contamination just from tasting.
But, i think if something does not taste good then there is no reason to
eat that everyday.

I buy whole mature coconut and then grate the meat and add water to
make coconut milk. There are youtube videos on home made coconut oil.
Then i just boil the milk for few hours and oil separates from fiber.
I make 1-2 quart of coconut oil in one batch . If i keep it outside for too long ,more than 2 months
they form fungus inside. I reheat the stored oil after one month to prevent that.
You can check the brand Ray Peat uses.
 

squanch

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May 7, 2014
Messages
398
There really shouldn't be any significant amounts of aflatoxin present if the coconut oil is produced from fresh coconuts.
Copra on the other hand is absolutely disgusting and almost certainly a source of either aflatoxin or carcinogens (if it's smoke dried).
Some manufacturers also grate the coconut meat first and then let it dry in the sun for a few days/weeks. That's technically still "fresh" coconut and not copra and oil produced this way is cheaper than using actual fresh coconut meat (they use different machines and a different process)

I use the dr goerg coconut oil which is produced from fresh coconuts within 72 hours of harvest, no drying. I'm not sure if you can get it outside of europe though.
 

Birdie

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Aug 10, 2012
Messages
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Location
USA
Just reading this as part of my plan to read Mittir's comments on the forum.
Possibly the refining does remove the aflatoxin. I remember Ray's description of how the large amounts of coconut oil are made.
You can see from that why the refining is necessary. But, I he said that consisted of straining it to clean it.
I just ordered Ray's latest recommended coconut oil, Nucifera 92 degree.
We have a few jars of the old kind to use first.

Am keeping this 5 lb bag of the Nucifera in a dark pantry. Then, before using, better boil it I guess...
Thanks for the info. So interesting, @Mittir that you make your own.
 

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