August 11, 2010
Study shows mycotoxins prevalent in feed and farm produce
A large percentage of samples taken from various agricultural commodities around the world had been tested positive for at least one mycotoxin, according to Biomin's quarterly mycotoxin survey report.
Between April and June 2010, a total of 2,599 analyses were carried out for the most important mycotoxins in terms of agriculture and animal production- aflatoxins (Afla), zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins (FUM) and ochratoxin A (OTA).
Due to the various origins of the different samples, the analysis and data were allocated to different regions: America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Middle East.
Samples tested were diverse, ranging from cereals such as corn, wheat, barley and rice to processing by-products, namely soymeal, corn gluten meal, dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) and other fodder such as straw, silage and finished feed.
From the 691 survey samples analysed, 32%, 38%, 53%, 52% and 30% tested positive for contamination with Afla, ZON, DON, FUM and OTA, respectively.
It is obvious that mycotoxins are a ubiquitous problem as 77% of the analysed samples show the presence of, at least, one mycotoxin.
The presence of more than one mycotoxin in 44% of the samples raises the attention to the problem of synergistic effects caused by multiple mycotoxins in animal feeds.