. 2020 Sep 1;7:1157–1163. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2020.08.031

Table 2.

Occurrences of AFM₁ in hard white cheese from El Salvador and meteorological parameters in this country.

Country of origin of samples	Classification based on AFM₁ level	Months of sample collection by year
Country of origin of samples	Classification based on AFM₁ level	July to August, 2018 (Rainy season)	November to December, 2018 (Rainy to dry transitional season)	February to March, 2019 (Dry season)	June to July, 2019 (Rainy season)
El Salvador	< 0.005 μg/kg (< LOQ)	3 (7.9 %)^a,b	0 (0%)^a	2 (5.1 %)^a,b	8 (20.0 %)^b
	0.005 – 0.050 μg/kg	24 (63.2 %)^a	28 (80.0 %)^a	21 (53.8 %)^a	23 (57.5 %)^a
	> 0.050 μg/kg	11 (28.9 %)^a	7 (20.0 %)^a	16 (41.0 %)^a	9 (22.5 %)^a
	Range of contents (μg/kg)	0 to 0.092	0.005 to 0.350	0 to 0.485	0 to 0.308
	Sample size	38	35	39	40
	Meteorological parameters
	Average cumulative rainfall (mm)	205.8	234.3	3.6	231.8
	Average temperature °C	25.7	25.0	26.6	27.5
	Average relative humidity %	77.8	80.4	63.9	76.5

< LOQ: Under limit of quantitation of test.

^a,bCounts and percentages with distinct letter differ significantly between same AFM₁ level group per season of a year (p < 0.05, Chi Square test). Salvadoran cheese samples, n = 152.

Cumulative rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity data are averages of the sampling months, including the prior one to each collection period, if these data are available.