{"id":17621,"date":"2026-06-20T12:58:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/iita-supports-tanzania-malawi-and-mozambique-in-developing-aflasafe-to-reduce-aflatoxin-contamination\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T17:13:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:13:39","slug":"iita-supports-tanzania-malawi-and-mozambique-in-developing-aflasafe-to-reduce-aflatoxin-contamination","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/iita-supports-tanzania-malawi-and-mozambique-in-developing-aflasafe-to-reduce-aflatoxin-contamination\/","title":{"rendered":"IITA supports Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique in developing Aflasafe to reduce aflatoxin contamination"},"content":{"rendered":"IITA has produced and dispatched over 10 tons of experimental biological control products (Aflasafe<\/a><\/u>), which will be tested in field trials for their efficacy to reduce aflatoxin contamination in three countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. The production took place at IITA\u2019s research facilities in Tanzania.\n
\n\n\"Team<\/a>\n

Team at IITA Tanzania preparing the Aflasafe in the laboratory.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nThis is part of the Institute\u2019s efforts to develop a sustainable and safe technology to reduce\u00a0aflatoxin<\/a><\/u>\u00a0contamination prevalent in two of the most important key staple crops, maize and groundnut. Aflatoxin is a deadly poison produced by certain types of mold and is known to cause cancer and stunting in children, among other health problems.\n\nIITA, in partnership with\u00a0USDA-ARS<\/a>\u00a0<\/u>and local national institutions, has successfully adapted the biocontrol technology and developed a biocontrol product with the generic name Aflasafe, which reduces aflatoxin contamination of groundnut and maize consistently by >80%. Currently, the product is registered for use in Nigeria and Kenya.\n\nThe biological control product is made from strains of the mold,\u00a0Aspergillus flavus<\/u><\/em><\/a>, that do not produce aflatoxin. These good strains outcompete and displace aflatoxin-producing strains of\u00a0Aspergillus<\/em>, thus reducing aflatoxin contamination of important food security crops like maize.\n\nFor each country two formulations of the biological control product were produced: (i) a country specific product using strains only found in that country, and (ii) a regional product produced from strains from that country, but these strains also occur in other countries. For\nMalawi these were MW02 and MWMZ01\u2014the former was made from strains that are specific to Malawi while the latter was made from region-specific strains. Similarly in Mozambique MZ02 and MWMZ01 were produced and dispatched. In Tanzania, TZ01 made from region-specific strains and TZ02 made from strains that are specific to Tanzania, were produced.\n\nThe experimental biological control products will be validated for efficacy to control aflatoxin in groundnut and maize. Both crops are staples in the three countries and are also highly susceptible to aflatoxin contamination. The biological control products will be tested this growing season and the data collected will go towards identifying the best formulation to control aflatoxins. After more validation tests the products will be registered and made available for wider use.\n\nThe atoxigenic strains were identified following rigorous tests and characterization done in IITA\u2019s laboratories in Nigeria and USDA-ARS in Arizona, USA. These isolates lack the genes required for aflatoxin production and therefore will not produce aflatoxin in nature. Each product is made up of four atoxigenic strains that are widely distributed in each country and belong to different classes.\n\nTo produce the biological control product, atoxigenic strains of\u00a0A. flavus<\/em>\u00a0are coated on roasted sorghum, which acts as a carrier of the product. The sorghum is roasted to prevent it from germinating when applied in the field. A polymer to stick the spores of the fungus to the sorghum and a dye, a natural food colorant, are added. The final product looks blue (from the blue dye) and is readily distinguished from untreated sorghum.\n\n\u201cThe production of 10 tons of aflasafe was by no means easy as we had to do it manually\u2014it was three weeks of back-breaking work for our staff, partners, and other hired laborers,\u201d said\u00a0George Mahuku<\/a><\/u>, IITA\u2019s Plant Pathologist, who led the efforts.\n\nThey also received support from IITA staff in Nigeria where IITA already has a plant to produce Aflasafe.\n\n\u201cHowever, we are very happy and proud of our efforts and the impact it will have in reducing aflatoxins, a major problem in the three countries,\u201d Mahuku added. \u201cIt made economic sense to produce the Aflasafe in Tanzania as opposed to Nigeria as the shipping costs would be very high.\u201d They were shipped by road to the two countries.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IITA has produced and dispatched over 10 tons of experimental biological control products (Aflasafe), which will be tested in field trials for their efficacy to reduce aflatoxin contamination in three countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":17622,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[27],"news-type":[],"hub":[62],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[194],"class_list":["post-17621","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-tanzania","hub-eastern-africa","item-year-194"],"yoast_head":"\nIITA supports Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique in developing Aflasafe to reduce aflatoxin contamination - 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