Biomin survey – mycotoxins remain ubiquitous problem

//18 Aug 2011
Mycotoxins remain an ubiquitous problem as 89% of the analysed samples show the presence of at least one mycotoxin as was revealed in the just released Q2 results of Biomin Mycotoxin Survey. The data helps to assess the risk level incurred by the use of commodities from certain regions.
In the period between April and June 2011, Biomin on a global scale analysed a total of 804 samples and 2,867 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).
 
Samples tested were diverse, ranging from cereals such as corn, wheat, barley and rice to processing by-products, such as soybean meal, corn gluten meal, DDGS and other fodders such as straw, silage and finished feed.
 
The table below gives an overview on the distribution of mycotoxins amongst different world regions.
Area
Mycotoxin presence (%)
 
Afla
ZON
DON
FUM
OTA
North America
38
17
38
67
18
Central America
100
0
100
100
0
South America
17
35
12
92
13
Northern Europe
100
71
86
0
1
Central Europe
0
65
82
70
42
Southern Europe
54
15
12
62
62
Middle East
29
0
0
-
71
Africa
0
0
100
100
0
North Asia
22
62
80
49
30
South-East Asia
8
38
39
64
32
South Asia
86
3
24
55
52
Oceania
9
29
41
25
8
Average positives
31
48
62
63
32
 
Ubiquitous problem
It is obvious that mycotoxins are an ubiquitous problem as 89% of the analysed samples show the presence of, at least, one mycotoxin.
 
 

The presence of more than one mycotoxin in 53% of the samples raises the attention to the problem of synergistic effects caused by multiple mycotoxins in animal feeds.
 
This is the second of 4 reports to be released this year. More detailed figures can be found on the Biomin website as well as past survey results.