The primary objective of this study was to monitor aflatoxin contamination in Haitian samples of raw
peanuts (n ¼ 21), peanut butters (n ¼ 32), and maize (n ¼ 30) obtained in Port-au-Prince and Cap
Haitien, Haiti, during 2012 and 2013. Our secondary objective was to explore a process that uses a locally
produced Haitian spirit (clarin) to transform oil from contaminated peanuts into a safe, edible product.
Immuno-affinity column chromatography and fluorometry (VICAM Aflatest) detected aflatoxins in 14%,
97%, and 30% of raw peanuts, peanut butters, and maize samples, respectively, and the concentration of
total aflatoxins was greatest in peanut butters (median: 137 mg/kg, maximum: 2720 mg/kg). The concentration
of aflatoxin in extracted oil was on average 10% of that in un-extracted oil which, in turn, had a
concentration that was only 5% of the original contaminated peanuts. Therefore, aflatoxin concentration
in the final product was 99.5% less than that found in the original peanuts, even without pre-filtration.
Our extraction experiments testing laboratory-grade ethanol and clarin provide evidence that the latter
can serve as a low-cost alternative to effectively reduce aflatoxin concentrations in oil pressed from high
aflatoxin peanuts.