Effect of harvest timing and postharvest storage conditions on aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts harvested from the Wonogiri regency in Indonesia

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a major food legume in Indonesia and is consumed as snack and used in a number of culinary preparations. Despite its importance as food, the presence of aflatoxin has the potential to limit its use in the human diet. Dharmaputra et al. (2003) reported that 100 % of bumbu pecel (groundnut sauce) samples collected in the wet and dry seasons in the Wonogiri region contained aflatoxin in the range of 80–140 ppb and 37–107 ppb, respectively with more than 15 ppb found in all the samples. Goto et al. (1999) reported that four out of eight groundnut samples obtained from traditional markets in Malang (East Java), Muntilan (Central Java) and Denpasar (Bali) had aflatoxin B1. In addition, Dharmaputra et al. (2003) found that 33 and 17 % of 12 raw seed samples collected in wet and dr