Biomin conducted a survey on the presence of mycotoxins in raw materials and animal feed, which found that mycotoxins are, more often than not, present.
Out of the more than 3,300 samples tested during the 12-month period from January to December 2010, 78% tested positive for mycotoxin presence. In total 11,195 analyses were carried out for the most important mycotoxins in terms of agriculture and animal production. The majority of the analyses were performed at Romer Labs Diagnostic in Austria, Romer Labs Singapore, Romer Labs Inc. in the US and Samitec in Brazil.
Of the samples analyzed, 70% were looked at by high performance liquid chromatography, 30% by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in the European and North American labs, and about 9% of the North American samples were looked at by the thin-layer chromatography method.
Researchers found variances in mycotoxin presence in the different regions that samples were tested. In northern Asia, the most prevalent mycotoxins were found to be those produced by Fusarium fungi. In southeast Asia, Aflatoxin was found to be the most prevalent mycotoxin in 65% of analyzed samples. Generally regarded as storage mycotoxins, Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A were the most prevalent in countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where 88% and 71% of analyzed samples tested positive for these mycotoxins, respectively. Within the Asia-Pacific region, Australia and New Zealand were found to have a different mycotoxin pattern, with a generally lower prevalence of mycotoxins in comparison to neighbor countries. In North America, the mycotoxin, Deoxynivalenol, was present in 87% of tested samples. In South American samples, mostly from Brazil, Fumonisins were found to be the greatest contaminant, with 88% of samples testing positive at incredibly high average levels. In Europe, the degree of contamination varied based on geography. Deoxynivalenol was the most prevalent mycotoxin (62% positive) in northern Europe, while Aflatoxin was found to be more prevalent at lower latitudes.
