Mycotoxins and Horses
In recent years there has been an increase in interest in mycotoxins not only in the food we eat but in the food that our animals eat.
According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the World Heath Organisation (WHO) estimates, 25% of the world’s crops are contaminated with mycotoxins, and as a result they occur readily in animal feeding stuffs and human food alike. Moisture is an important factor in their development, and so conditions during growth, harvest and storage all affect mycotoxin development, with each new season being different to the previous in terms of mycotoxin risk.
Winergy applies the highest standards of quality and food safety to the production of their horse feeds. We recognise that scientific evidence into the effect of mycotoxins is not always clear, but continually review new information in taking a responsible approach to understanding the risks mycotoxins pose to our horses and to controlling their presence in our feeds.
We also recognise that mycotoxins are an industry-wide issue, and are part of the BETA Mycotoxin Working Group to further the development of knowledge and information in this important area. See www.beta-uk.org for further information.
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Key mycotoxin facts
- Mycotoxins are naturally occurring products of fungi developing during growth, at harvest or in storage of crops
- Over 400 different kinds of mycotoxins have been identified.
- There are six main classifications of mycotoxin - aflatoxins, tricothecenes, fumonisins, zearalenone, ochratoxin and ergot alkaloids, each formed by different kinds of fungi.
- They occur widely in feed ingredients fed to horses
- There are a variety of methods for testing for mycotoxins The gold standard is HPLC which is expensive and slow; ELISA kits provide results more quickly and are less expensive, but are less accurate and not validated for compound feeds and forages
- Horses appear to cope well with a certain daily mycotoxin load but adverse effects associated with high levels of mycotoxins include decreased appetite, digestive upset, impaired immunity and reproduction, and poor condition
- Mycotoxins are known to have adverse effects on health, but there is a lack of firm data per mycotoxin on those levels that have adverse effects.
- Mycotoxin control from field to feed bucket occurs in three ways –
- by implementing good agricultural practices during the growing, harvesting and storage of crops;
- via regulatory limits for their presence in feed ingredients; and
- on yard, via good hygiene and storage in the feed room and forage store.
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