Mycotoxins in home-made red pepper powders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is nutritionally important and economically valuable in Ethiopia. As it is highly vulnerable, mycotoxin contamination was evaluated in 124 household-produced red pepper powders. Also knowledge and practices among these households were evaluated. Samples were collected at the time of processing and pooled into 40 composite samples, which were split into two 100-gram portions of which one was analysed immediately and the other stored at room temperature for six months. Twenty-six mycotoxins were determined using a validated UHPLC-MS/MS method, of which ten were detected both at production and after storage, with levels ranging from <LOD to 154 µg/kg initially and <LOD to 90 µg/kg after 6 months storage. At production 92.5% and after storage 75% of the samples exceeded the EU limit for AFB1. Several mycotoxins showed significant declines during storage. Findings underscore the need for improved prevention strategies and further research on storage-related detoxification mechanisms.