Milk is a beverage very susceptible to various contaminants, including aflatoxins. These toxins, especially aflatoxin B1 and M1, are considered potentially toxic to human and animal health and must be constantly controlled. For this reason, this systematic review aimed to evaluate the prevalence of aflatoxins in milk from
the countries that are part of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) to answer the research question: What is the prevalence of Aflatoxins in milk samples within the scope of Mercosur through studies published since 2010?”. The study was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and the risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute's tool for a critical assessment of adapted prevalence studies. A total of 7,698 articles were retrieved and 43 were included in the review, totaling 4,382 samples of milk analyzed and 177 of infant formula. AFM1 was the
aflatoxin researched by all studies, and its overall prevalence at any concentration was 69% (IC95%: 55-80). Meta-analysis summarized concentrations for fluid milk of 0.0353 µg/kg (IC95%: 0.0187 – 0.0518), and for powdered milk of 0.4181 µg/kg (IC95%: 0.2301 – 0.6060). The results indicated a high prevalence of AFM1
in the member countries of Mercosur, but the calculated concentrations are under current legislation. This study is part of the protocol registered with the International Prospective of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), registration number: CRD42020200581.
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