3.2. AFM1 contamination in raw milk
For the three climate periods, the ELISA screening analysis of 129 samples of raw milk showed the presence of AFM1 in all samples analyzed, regardless of the climate conditions. The occurrence of AFM1 in raw milk in the distinct climate periods is presented in Table 2. The contamination levels of the AFM1 toxin in milk samples ranged from 0.0002 to 0.1057 μg/L, with higher levels detected in samples of the dry period. The statistical analysis of the data showed a significant difference (p > 0.0001) between the mean concentrations of AFM1 in raw milk samples taken from the different periods. As shown in Table 2, most of the contaminated samples with AFM1 levels of 0.05–0.50 μg/L (n = 13), were collected in the dry period and represent the highest levels detected, whereas for contamination levels below 0.05 μg/L, a greater number of samples were collected in the rainy period in comparison with the dry and transition periods.