The Dangers of Aflatoxin

The Guardian, via Big Picture Agriculture:

It is rare that the issue of food safety is mentioned let alone included in current approaches to tackling food insecurity, yet 4.5 billion people are potentially exposed to a carcinogenic toxin – aflatoxin – through their diets. The toxin is responsible for up to 28% of liver cancers globally, and is linked to childhood stunting and suppression of the immune system, contributing to diseases such as TB.
Aflatoxin is one of a number of harmful toxins routinely consumed through contaminated food in developing countries. It is produced by a soil borne fungus, aspergillus, that grows on staples such as maize, rice and groundnuts. Contamination spreads along supply chains due to poor production and storage. Twin, an ethical trading organisation, is engaging with smallholder groundnut producers in Malawi to address the stringent health and safety regulations needed to import products to Europe. However, in countries like Malawi, 60% of groundnuts or other staples are bought and consumed in largely informal markets.
As a result of low awareness levels of the health impacts, smallholders lack the incentive to change their practices. Producer organisations such as the National Association of Smallholder Farmers of Malawi (Nasfam) are developing radio programmes, videos and articles to disseminate the dangers and causes of aflatoxin contamination, while promoting best practice in control, management and mitigation techniques. The global poverty action fund is also supporting this initiative by training farmers.

I didn't realize that aflatoxin caused liver cancer.  Then again, most of the contaminated grain here ends up going to cows who probably won't live long enough to develop cancer.  What effect that has on the consumers of beef, I don't know, but I would guess it isn't extremely dangerous.