MYCOTOXINS ▶▶▶


Mycotoxin Survey 2020: DON and FUM most prevalent


Last year DON and FUM were still the most prevalent mycotoxins globally. This can be seen from the results of the annual World Mycotoxin Survey published by Biomin.


BY MARIEKE PLOEGMAKERS I


n 2020 Biomin analysed 21,709 samples from 79 coun- tries. The results showed that the most prevalent myco- toxins globally in 2020 were the Fusarium mycotoxins DON (65%) and FUM (64%), followed by ZEN (48%). Ac-


cording to Alexandro Marchioro, senior mycotoxin expert at Biomin, climate change is the main trigger influencing myco- toxin prevalence around the globe. In a webinar he ex- plained: “Extreme weather conditions and events, like drought, desertification and floods affect the life cycle of fungi, what influences mycotoxin occurrence.”


Europe In Europe the most prevalent mycotoxin is still DON, followed by ZEN and FUM. The high risk in Europe is mainly due to the high prevalence of DON in maize. “70% of the samples tested positive on DON,” explains, Annelies Mueller product manag- er, Biomin in a webinar. “Besides the high prevalence of DON, we see a slight increase in the average contamination of maize with ZEN to 171 ppb.”


North America DON is one of the main concerns in all species in North Amer- ica. Alexandro Marchioro, senior mycotoxin expert at Biomin: “We observed a high prevalence of DON; 72% of the samples was contaminated.” The average of positives for DON in maize (maize) was quite high at 808 ppb and even higher in cereals (1,721 ppb). “We also saw a high co-contamination level in maize; 60% of the samples were contaminated with more than one mycotoxin.”


Central and South America In Central America nearly all (97%) maize samples tested positive for FUM at an average of 1,820 ppb and a maximum of 24,233 ppb. In South America maize was also highly contaminated with FUM at 83% and an average of positives of 2,280. The survey shows that DON is the main threat in wheat in South Americ − found in 83% of the samples. Also


soybeans appear affected with mycotoxins, while in South America ZEN was most abundant − it was found in 73% of the soybean samples.


Asia There are extreme risks in South Asia as well as in China and Taiwan. In Southeast Asia and East Asia the risk is severe. Mu- eller: “We see high levels of FUM again in these regions. And it is also interesting to see that the levels of OTA and T2 in- creased compared to last year.” The data shows a FUM con- tamination of 96% of maize, followed by DON in 80% of the samples tested. Alfa and ZEN are a risk for animal production. ZEN was present in 68% of the samples analysed and a maximum of 11,786 ppb was found.


Africa The main risk in Africa is DON, followed by FUM. In cereals, 92% of the samples were contaminated by DON, with a maxi- mum of 917 ppb. South African maize was highly contami- nated with Fusarium toxins. DON was the most prevalent my- cotoxin, followed by FUM and ZEN. In South Africa we also tested straw samples. These samples showed high levels of ZEN, with an average of 1,664 ppb and a maximum of around 2,900 ppb detected.


Masked and emerging mycotoxins Masked mycotoxins are an increasing problem. The masked mycotoxin Deoxynivalenol-3-Glucoside was present in 44% of the samples. The analyses also showed the presence of several emerging mycotoxins. Moniliformin was found in 56% of the samples; mainly poultry is very susceptible to this my- cotoxin. Other emerging mycotoxins that were found in the analyses were Beauvericin (48%), Enniatin B1 (35%), Enniatin A1 (28%), Enniatin A (15%) and Enniatin B (23%), all of which have a negative effect on the immune system of animals. Alternariol was present in 43% of the samples.


▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 2, 2021 13


The high risk in Europe is mainly due to the high prevalence of DON in maize.


PHOTO: RONALD HISSINK


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