en تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Background: </span></b><span style="line-height:115%">Aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) is a mycotoxin found in milk that has a carcinogenic effect and poses significant public health risks.<b> </b>Since the human population&#39;s consumption of milk and milk products are quite high, thereby increasing the risk of exposure to AFM₁ is of great threat. To assess public health hazards associated with the occurrence of AFM1 in Ultra High Temperature (UHT) milk, a survey was carried out in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE).</span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Methods:</span></b><span style="line-height:115%"> A total of 42 UHT milk samples from different commercial brands were collected from January to April 2020. The occurrence and concentration range of AFM₁ in the samples were investigated by applying the competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method.</span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Results:</span></b><span style="line-height:115%"> AFM₁ was detected in four positive samples (9.5%) with a concentration range of 2.8-7.4 ng/L and a mean concentration of 5.2&plusmn;1.9 ng/L. However, none of the positive samples had AFM₁ levels exceeding the maximum permissible limit (50&nbsp;ng/L) as set by the European Commission.</span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="line-height:115%"> AFM₁ incidence in the samples selected from UHT consumed milk in Sharjah-UAE is very low and seems to be no serious public health problem at the moment. Frequent analytical surveillance by food control agencies is highly recommended to keep controlling of the incidence of mycotoxin contamination in dairy products consumed in the UAE.<br> <br> <strong>DOI:&nbsp;</strong></span>10.18502/jfqhc.9.1.9689</span></span></span></div> Aflatoxins, Aflatoxin M1, Milk, Dairy Products, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, United Arab Emirates 43 48 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1411-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 M. Mohamadin mmohamadin@hct.ac.ae 0000-0003-1886-0028 Yes Department of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Higher Colleges of Technology, P.O. Box 7946, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates A. Rama No Department of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Higher Colleges of Technology, P.O. Box 7946, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates R. Seboussi No Department of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Higher Colleges of Technology, P.O. Box 17155, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates