Food & Drink / Compounds / Aflatoxin B2

Aflatoxin B2 in food: ingestion safety

Context-dependent

Not medical or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a qualified clinician — consult one. Full disclaimer →

Safety profile for Aflatoxin B2 relevant to people.

What is aflatoxin b2?

Also known as: AFLATOXIN G2, 2MS0D8WA29, (3S,7R)-11-methoxy-6,8,16,20-tetraoxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.03,7.013,18]icosa-1,9,11,13(18)-tetraene-17,19-dione, (7AR,cis)3,4,7a,9,10,10a-hexahydro-5-methoxy-1H,12H-furo(3',2':4,5)furo(2,3-h)pyrano(3,4-c)chromene-1,12-dione.

CAS number
7220-81-7
Molecular formula
C17H14O6
Molecular weight
314.29 g/mol
SMILES
COC1=C2C3=C(C(=O)CC3)C(=O)OC2=C4[C@@H]5CCO[C@@H]5OC4=C1
PubChem CID
2724360

Risk for people from eating or drinking it

Context-dependent

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Aflatoxin B2.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
IARC2012Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans)Aflatoxins are carcinogenic to humans (IARC Group 1), IARC Monographs Vol 100F (2012). Aflatoxin B2 has limited individual evidence in experimental animals, but is a naturally-occurring aflatoxin congener covered by the Group-1 'Aflatoxins' class evaluation. Filled 2026-07-02 (D-300, Batch C).

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter aflatoxin b2

  • Food Chain — contaminated grain

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Aflatoxin B2:

  • Prevention (storage and agricultural practices)
    Trade-offs: Zero point-of-use emissions; shifts emissions to power generation (grid-dependent); lower operating cost; higher capital cost; infrastructure requirements (charging, grid capacity); rapidly improving economics.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain aflatoxin b2?

Aflatoxin B2 appears in: contaminated grain (Food chain).

See Aflatoxin B2 in the food app

Look up products containing aflatoxin b2, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (2)
  1. PubChem — Aflatoxin B2 (CID 2724360) (2026) — database
  2. IARC Monographs Volume 100F (2012) — Aflatoxins (Group 1) (2012) — regulatory

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →