BIOMIN Mycotoxin Survey Program 2011
(02.05.2012) This comprehensive survey documents the occurrence of mycotoxins in samples taken throughout 2011 in different regions. One thing remains clear the global prevalence of mycotoxins in a range of common feed commodities underscores the need for quality feed management strategies.
Since 2005, BIOMIN has been conducting extensive studies documenting the occurrence of mycotoxins worldwide. The BIOMIN Mycotoxin Survey Program 2011, the most comprehensive report on the market, details the distribution of mycotoxins according to their region of origin and commodity type.
More than 4,300 samples were collected from various countries over a 12-month period from January to December and 13,854 analyses were carried out to investigate the occurrence of aflatoxins (Afla), zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins (FUM) and/or ochratoxin A (OTA) in the different regions and feed materials.
More than 70 % of the samples were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), followed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and the thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method.
Samples were classified firstly according to their region of origin, mainly by the Asia-Pacific (37 %), Europe, Africa and the Middle East (35 %), the Americas (27 %), and secondly by means of commodity types, ranging from raw materials like corn (33 %), wheat (9 %), barley (7 %) and soybean (5 %) to finished feed (25 %), silage (8 %) and other feed ingredients (13 %).
The results show that average contamination levels were slightly lower in 2011 compared with 2010, whereas the percentage of mycotoxin distribution found at the maximum levels remains similar to last years for ZON, DON and FUM. It was found that contamination with Afla, ZON, DON, FUM and/or OTA affected 27%, 40%, 59%, 51% and 27% of the 4,327 samples collected worldwide, respectively.
Besides providing a worldwide geographical and statistical analysis, the report also details the regional breakdown for common mycotoxin occurrences, types of commodities associated with the different mycotoxins, and the corresponding maximum and average levels of contamination per region for each toxin. It also highlights the commodities with the highest risk of contamination, based on the tested samples.
Attention should also be given to the potentially harmful synergistic effects on animals arising from the presence of more than one mycotoxin in the feed. Given the ubiquitous presence of mycotoxins worldwide, an effective mycotoxin risk management program is critical to preventing additional costs in farm management and economic losses due to sub-par animal performance.
For the full report please visit www.biomin.net.