Mycotoxins in animal feed
General information and guidance on mycotoxins in animal feed.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has carried out risk assessments on a range of mycotoxins that are considered to pose a potential risk to human or animal health. These are: aflatoxin B1, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A and fumonisins. In each case, EFSA has published an Opinion that provides an assessment of the potential risk to animal or human health and recommendations for risk management. Each Opinion has been used as a basis for the current legislative controls on mycotoxins.
Legislative controls on mycotoxins
The presence of undesirable substances (chemical contaminants) in feed is controlled by EC Directive 2002/32 (as amended). It is transposed into law in the Feeding Stuffs (England) Regulations 2005 (as amended) and in the parallel Feeding Stuffs Regulations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Directive sets maximum permitted levels (MPLs) for substances that are present in, or on, animal feed that present a potential danger to animal or human health or to the environment, or could adversely affect livestock production.
Currently, aflatoxin B1 is the only mycotoxin with MPLs set under Directive 2002/32. It is a genotoxic carcinogen and a strong acute toxin in various animal species; it can also contaminate milk if lactating animals are exposed to significant levels. MPLs of aflatoxin B1 have therefore been set as low as reasonably achievable in order to protect animal and public health. The current MPLs of aflatoxin B1 in animal feedingstuffs (shown below) are set in Directive 2003/100/EC, amending Directive 2002/32.
| Aflatoxin B 1 | Maximum content in mg/kg (ppm) relative to a feedingstuff with a moisture content of 12% |
|---|---|
| All feed materials | 0.02 |
| Complete feedingstuffs for cattle, sheep and goats with the exception of: - complete feedingstuffs for dairy animals - complete feedingstuffs for calves and lambs |
0.02 0.005 0.01 |
| Complete feedingstuffs for pigs and poultry (except young animals) | 0.02 |
| Other complete feedingstuffs | 0.01 |
| Complementary feedingstuffs for cattle, sheep and goats (except complementary feedingstuffs for dairy animals, calves and lambs) | 0.02 |
| Complementary feedingstuffs for pigs and poultry (except young animals) | 0.02 |
| Other complementary feedingstuffs | 0.005 |
Additionally, guidance values have been recommended for a further five mycotoxins under Commission Recommendation 2006/576/EC: deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A and fumonisins B1 and B2. These mycotoxins pose a risk to animal health and can affect livestock production for several species, but the risk to public health is considered low; in all cases, food of animal origin only contributes marginally to the total human exposure to these toxins. The guidance values are shown in the table below.
| Mycotoxin | Products intended for animal feed | Guidance value in mg/kg (ppm) relative to a feedingstuff with a moisture content of 12% |
|---|---|---|
| Deoxynivalenol | Feed materials - cereals and cereal products with the exception of maize by-products - maize by-products Complementary and complete feedingstuffs with the exception of: - complementary and complete feedingstuffs for pigs - complementary and complete feedingstuffs for calves (< 4 months), lambs and kids |
8 12 5 0.9 2 |
| Feed materials - cereals and cereal products with the exception of maize by-products - maize by-products Complementary and complete feedingstuffs - complementary and complete feedingstuffs for piglets and gilts (young sows) - complementary and complete feedingstuffs for sows and fattening pigs - complementary and complete feedingstuffs for calves, dairy cattle, sheep (including lambs) and goats (including kids) |
2 3 0.1 0.25 0.5 |
|
| Ochratoxin A | Feed materials - cereals and cereal products Complementary and complete feedingstuffs - complementary and complete feedingstuffs for pigs - complementary and complete feedingstuffs for poultry |
0.25 0.05 0.1 |
| Fumonisin B1 and B2 | Feed materials - maize and maize products Complementary and complete feedingstuffs for: - pigs, horses (Equidae), rabbits and pet animals - fish - poultry, calves (< 4 months), lambs and kids - adult ruminants (> 4 months) and mink |
60 5 10 20 50 |
Note: Cereals and cereal products includes other feed materials derived from cereals, in particular cereal forages and roughages.
Maize and maize products includes other feed materials derived from maize, in particular maize forages and roughages.
Recommended mycotoxin analyses for animal feedingstuffs
Feed business operators must ensure that feedingstuffs meet the statutory controls for aflatoxin B1. The Agency also recommends increased monitoring for deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, fumonisins B1 and B2 and T-2 and HT-2 in cereal and cereal products intended for animal feed and compound feedingstuffs, or in food by- or co- products intended for animal feed.
Blending down / detoxification
Mixing animal feedingstuffs with the same or other products in order to dilute levels of an undesirable substance that exceeds the statutory controls is not permitted under Directive 2002/32; this practice is known as 'blending down'. This requirement only applies to feedingstuffs with statutory controls under Directive 2002/32.
The blending down of animal feeds is not prohibited in feedingstuffs exceeding the guidance values for deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, fumonisin B1 and B2 and T-2 and HT-2. However, it is the responsibility of the feed business operator to ensure that feed placed on the market or fed to any food-producing animal is safe, has no adverse effect on human or animal health and therefore meets the guidance values for mycotoxins.
Substances that reduce the contamination of feed by mycotoxins may be authorised under the feed additive Regulation 1831/2003 5. Regulation 386/2009 6 established a new functional group of feed additives to bring these substances under the remit of feed additive legislation in May 2009.
