One would like to enjoy a cold bottle of ‘brukina’ (or bokina), a dairy milk and millet mixture, to release some stress on a sunny afternoon.

But have you bothered to know what this meal contains?

Research conducted by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana has found that some samples of ‘brukina’ and the millet and dairy milk used to prepare it, contain unacceptable levels of aflatoxins that can cause cancer after continuous intake.

The research was published in the Ghana Medical Journal.

Aflatoxins are a group of highly toxic substances produced by a fungus known as Aspergillus.

The study sought to investigate levels of aflatoxin in ‘brukina’.

Over the course of seven months, monthly samples of “brukina” were purchased from “brukina” producers for the study.

Nima and Ashaiman in Accra each had twenty-one samples taken for testing.

After testing, the researchers discovered that 2 samples from Nima and 1 from Ashaiman both contained high amounts of aflatoxin (AFB1) that were beyond the permitted threshold.

AFM1 levels were over the permissible limit in 12 dairy milk samples from Ashaiman and 10 from Nima.

Aflatoxin contamination was found in some of the “brukina” samples tested, and all levels of aflatoxins increase the risk of cancer.

AFB1 was also discovered in 2 millet samples from Ashiaman and 6 samples from Nima.

“Based on these results, it is prudent to avoid feeding infants with brukina since their bodies are more sensitive to toxic insults.

“Also, farmers and ‘brukina’ producers must be educated on good storage practices and monitored by the regulatory agents to protect the public from aflatoxin exposure and toxicity,” said Prof. Regina Appiah-Opong of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, a Toxicologist and the lead scientist.