Brukina drink contains cancer-causing substance – Research by Noguchi Institute

Toxic amounts of aflatoxins have been identified in ‘brukina’ and the millet and dairy milk needed to create it, according to research done by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana.

Journal of Ghanaian Medicine has published this study.

Millet-based fermented milk product Brukina is a popular beverage in Ghana, where it is made and drunk by everyone.

In poor and middle-income nations in the subtropics, aflatoxin exposure poses a severe threat to public health.

Over the course of seven months, ‘brukina’ samples were acquired on a monthly basis from ‘brukina’ manufacturers.

Each of the Accra neighbourhoods of Nima and Ashaiman yielded twenty-one samples for testing.

One sample from Ashaiman and two from Nima tested positive for aflatoxin (AFB1) at levels over the permissible limit, according to the researchers.

Samples from Ashaiman and Nima showed levels of aflatoxin (AFM1) over the permissible limit.



Some of the “brukina” samples examined contained aflatoxin, which has a cumulative impact on cancer risk.

Two millet samples from Ashaiman and six from Nima had aflatoxins (AFB1).

Professor Regina Appiah-Opong, a Toxicologist and the chief scientist of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research stated.

“Also, farmers must be trained on appropriate storage methods and regulated by the regulatory agencies to safeguard the people from aflatoxin exposure and toxicity.”