Occurrence of Mycotoxins Worldwide
Every type of grain can be affected by mycotoxins. The toxins can accumulate in maturing corn, wheat, soybeans, sorghum, peanuts and other food and feed crops in the field, during transportation or improper storage.
The occurrence of mycotoxins in food and animal feed often shows a geographic pattern, as for example Aspergillus species find optimal conditions in tropical and subtropical regions, whereas Fusarium and Penicillium species are also adapted to the moderate climate of North America and Europe. However, worldwide trade with food and feed commodities result in a worldwide distribution of contaminated material, therefore good practice would be to consult country specific reports according to where grains are imported from.
The BIOMIN Mycotoxin Survey constitutes the longest running and most comprehensive survey of its kind, using advanced analytic tools.
It details the incidence of the main mycotoxins occurring in agricultural commodities, which include:
- Aflatoxins (Afla),
- Zearalenone (ZEN),
- Deoxynivalenol (DON),
- T-2 toxin (T-2),
- Fumonisins (FUM) and
- Ochratoxin A (OTA).
The survey focuses on components that are used for feed such as corn, wheat, barley, rice, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, dried distillers grains (DDGS) and silage, among others. The program is constantly updated, country specific and results are issued every quarter. Risk assessment is calculated according to official guidance levels and relevant published studies.
The most recent version of the BIOMIN mycotoxin survey can be downloaded at the following link.