INTERVIEW ▶▶▶ Kevin Vanneste
Detecting mycotoxin lesions in slaughterhouses
It is standard practice to test for mycotoxin contamination in feed by sampling feed ingredients. Agrimprove takes a different approach and looks at mycotoxin lesions in slaughterhouses. All About Feed talked with product manager Kevin Vanneste.
BY MARIEKE PLOEGMAKERS I
n a recently released technical white paper Agrimprove ex- plains how to look for mycotoxin lesions in poultry in slaugh- terhouses. Mycotoxins can cause various types of lesions in several organs. It depends on the type of mycotoxin present
in the feed of the animal which organ is damaged. According to Kevin van Venneste, product manager at Agrimprove, detection of lesions caused by mycotoxins serves as an additional tool.
All About Feed: The presence of mycotoxins is usually test- ed in feed ingredients; why should we look for lesions caused by mycotoxins? The information obtained through mycotoxin analysis of grains and feed does not provide a full picture of the real level of con- tamination with mycotoxins. Sometimes the level of mycotoxins detected is very low or they are not detected at all. However, while nutritionists might think that everything is under control and the risk is low, animal performance can still be impacted for the following reasons: – Mycotoxins are heterogeneously distributed in grains and feed – In practice the sampling size is often too small, resulting in non-representative results (e.g. you would need to take 100 samples per batch of 80 tonnes or more)
– The presence of masked mycotoxins – Synergistic effects between mycotoxins – Long exposure to low levels of mycotoxins.
In order to get a full picture, pathology offers an additional tool to evaluate the impact of mycotoxins on animals. Specialists at Agrimprove look for specific lesions related to mycotoxins macro- scopically. In some cases they also collect some samples of the
14 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 4, 2020
affected organs to perform histopathology (examination of tissue under the microscope). An important aspect when our pathology specialists visit customers is training local personnel.
Why this approach? Veterinarians all over the world have a great deal of knowledge about bacteria, viruses and so on. As a consequence they often think first in terms of infectious diseases, but don’t look for lesions caused by mycotoxins, or they find it difficult to recognise them. It is important to keep in mind that, when everything is done properly and there is no response to antibiotics or vaccines, mycotoxins might be involved. Mycotoxins do not often kill, but they do result in growth retardation, more days to market, etc. Not considering le- sions caused by mycotoxins in differential diagnosis can create the risk of making a wrong diagnosis or other decision. Via our technical white papers, we aim to share our 30 years of experience and ex- pertise in mycotoxins and make veterinarians become familiar with the lesions caused by mycotoxins. It is important to mention that this knowledge can be applied not only in slaughterhouses but also on the farm. Considering mycotoxin lesions in differential diagnosis not only provides information about possible exposure to mycotox- ins, but also whether any preventive measures (e.g. the use of
Agrimprove
Agrimprove is Royal Agrifirm Group’s functional feed ingredi- ents brand. In support of farmers worldwide, Agrimprove de- velops ideas in animal health and nutrition, and grow these ideas into tangible improvement strategies based on feed optimization.
PHOTO: AGRIMPROVE
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