The silent profit killer

The most common mycotoxins that pose a risk to animal health are aflatoxin, ochratoxin, fumonisin, zearalenone, T-2 toxin, and deoxynivalenol. In the minority of cases, mycotoxins occur at high concentrations resulting in acute mycotoxicosis with apparent clinical symptoms. Symptoms include vomiting, oral lesions, liver and kidney damage, and high mortality.

In most cases, however, mycotoxins occur at low concentrations resulting in subclinical effects but still cause damage to the intestinal architecture and gut barrier, resulting in lower production efficiency. Adverse effects on the immune system may lead to increased pathogen susceptibility and lowered vaccine response.

Overall, mycotoxins increase the risk of impaired animal health, poor performance, higher veterinary costs, and economic losses for the farmer.

Risk management

The occurrence of mycotoxins depends on many factors including the geographical region and weather conditions. Despite preventive pre- and post-harvest measurements mycotoxins still occur in most feeds being analyzed.

An accurate risk assessment of mycotoxins is challenging due to many factors. The risk of mycotoxins is often underestimated due to:

• A non-representative sampling of raw materials
• Presence of masked mycotoxins
• Synergistic effects between mycotoxins
• Occurrence of emerging mycotoxins
• Farm-specific conditions increasing animal sensitivity

The use of an effective toxin binder in the feed disarms mycotoxins, independent of the uncertain factors above.