Buy pre-packaged cooking oil with an SC number, not bulk homemade peanut oil from small workshops
When peanuts get damp and moldy, they produce aflatoxin — a known human carcinogen that mainly harms the liver. After Guangzhou tightened regulations on small workshops, the rate of abnormal liver function among local residents who regularly consumed homemade oil dropped by roughly 35%. In Guangxi, pregnant women who ate homemade peanut oil had nearly a 90% higher risk of giving birth to low‑birth‑weight babies and an 80% higher risk of premature delivery.
Switching to such oil costs about the same. Just check whe…
Aflatoxin is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, meaning it…
Switching to such oil costs about the same. Just check whether the packaging shows a food production license number starting with “SC”. The real challenge is convincing older relatives who are used to buying homemade oil.
Aflatoxin is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, meaning it definitely causes cancer — primarily liver cancer. A Guangzhou study measured aflatoxin B1 levels in homemade peanut oil from small workshops between 2010 and 2022; the median concentration was 1.29 μg/kg, with half of all samples falling between 0.12 and 6.58 μg/kg. After local regulations took effect, toxin levels fell by 2.865 μg/kg and continued to drop by 2.593 μg/kg each year thereafter. Consequently, the proportion of local residents with abnormal liver function fell by about 35% (PR 0.650, 95% CI 0.469–0.902). Another study in Guangxi followed 1,611 pregnant women; 81.7% of them consumed homemade peanut oil. Those women faced roughly a 90% higher risk of having low‑birth‑weight infants (aOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1–3.2) and an 80% higher risk of premature delivery (aOR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1–3.0).
Lei J, Li Y, Wang Y, 等 (2024). The impact of small food workshops management regulations on aflatoxin B1 in home-made peanut oil and the liver function of high-consumption area residents: an interrupted time series study in Guangzhou, China. Frontiers in Public Health, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1484414；Zhong Y, Lu H, Jiang Y, 等 (2024). Effect of homemade peanut oil consumption during pregnancy on low birth weight and preterm birth outcomes: a cohort study in Southwestern China. Global Health Action, 17. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2024.2336312；IARC (2012). Chemical Agents and Related Occupations. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Vol 100F. https://publications.iarc.fr/123；国家卫生计生委、国家食品药品监督管理总局 (2017). 食品安全国家标准 食品中真菌毒素限量（GB 2761-2017）
Open source linkBoth studies were observational in nature and lacked a control group. The Guangzhou study used liver‑function test results as its endpoint rather than incidence of liver cancer or mortality. The median aflatoxin level in homemade oil actually stayed below China’s legal limit of 20 μg/kg for peanut oil; the risk arises from long‑term consumption and occasional batches with higher concentrations. The legal limit applies to all peanut oil, but pre‑packaged oil must meet production‑license and factory‑inspection standards, while small workshops are subject to far fewer inspections under regional regulations. The main beneficiaries of this advice are you and your family members who eat the same meals.