A survey of animal feed from around the world has noted that the most common mycotoxins found in feed is deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FUM). In the study, 4,027 samples were taken from 50 countries and focused on feed components like wheat, corn, barley, rice, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, silage and dried distillers grains among others. The study was conducted by Biomin, an animal nutrition company.
Doxynivalenol and fumonisins were detected in 73 percent and 64 percent of all samples at average levels of 886 ppb and 1,819 ppb, respectively. Additionally, 53 percent of samples were contaminated by zearalenone (ZEN). Aflatoxins, T-2 toxin and ochratoxin A were present in less than 25 percent of samples. Interestingly, 90 percent of all samples contained at least one mycotoxin, and 71 percent of all samples contained two or more mycotoxins.
Europe is facing a high contamination risk, with four mycotoxins shown above the risk threshold. The most prevalent mycotoxin was DON, detected in 79 percent of the samples, followed by ZEN, detected in 63 percent of the samples. The highest prevalence of T-2 was found in Europe.
Both North and South America also face severe risks of mycotoxin contamination, with five mycotoxins above the risk threshold. In North America, DON and FUM were the most prevalent mycotoxins, detected in 38 percent and 32 percent of feed samples. FUM was the most prevalent mycotoxin in South America, found in 77 percent of samples.
South America shows the third highest average concentration of FUM worldwide (2,192 ppb) and the highest average concentration of OTA worldwide. At the 2016 World Nutrition Forum in Canada, only 8 percent of delegates said they had not encountered a mycotoxin problem in the past three years.
One of the factors adding to the future mycotoxin risk would be climate change, with drought and the spread of plant diseases playing a part, said experts at the forum. They also mentioned that the necessity for antibiotic-free production may also intensify the impact of mycotoxins.
Read more at Horse Talk.
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