Since 2005, Biomin has been conducting extensive studies documenting the occurrence of mycotoxins worldwide. The Biomin Mycotoxin Survey Program 2011 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 per cent of the samples were analysed 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 per cent), Europe, Africa and the Middle East (35 per cent), the Americas (27 per cent), and secondly, by commodity, ranging from raw materials like corn (33 per cent), wheat (nine per cent), barley (seven per cent) and soybean (five per cent) to finished feed (25 per cent), silage (eight per cent) and other feed ingredients (13 per cent).

The results show that average contamination levels were slightly lower in 2011 than 2010, whereas the percentage of mycotoxin distribution found at the maximum levels remains similar to last year’s for ZON, DON and FUM. It was found that contamination with Afla, ZON, DON, FUM and/or OTA affected 27 per cent, 40 per cent, 59 per cent, 51 per cent and 27 per cent 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 lower animal performance.

For the full report, please click here.