This study was conducted to observe the occurrence of aflatoxin in chicken feed from Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 336 samples of chicken feed from Peninsular Malaysia were conveniently collected in this survey. The chicken feed represented the following three categories which are starter, grower and finisher. All samples werecollected from local poultry farms in East Coast Region (Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang), Northern Region (Perlis, Kedah, Penang, and Perak), Southern Region (Malacca, Johor) and Central Region (Selangor, Negeri Sembilan) of Peninsular Malaysia for a periodof six months (July-December 2015). Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for screening of total aflatoxin (TA) in the samples. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detector was used for determination of aflatoxin B and G. Moisture content of samples was determined using the hot airoven method (AOAC International, 2011). Overall, the incidence of positive TA >20 µg/kg in chicken feed is 14.9% (50 samples). The average level of TA was found significantly different between different states at p<0.05 for both broiler grower and finisher. Thechromatograph results showed that positive samples were found in broiler finisher from Kedah (94.6 µg/kg and 42.1 µg/kg) and Penang(56.4 µg/kg) with aflatoxin B1. In this study, the range of moisture content were around 6.5-27.3%. About 40% samples have more than12% moisture content. One of the predisposing factors for aflatoxin accumulation in chicken feed is moisture content. The results warrantthe need for surveillance and constant monitoring programmes for the prevention of aflatoxin incidence in poultry farms.

This paper presents the resultsof an experimental attempt to improve thedrying kinetics for the retention of colourand sialic acid in edible bird’s nest throughheat pump drying. Kinetics of hot air dryingand heat pump drying were studied byperforming various drying trials on ediblebird’s nest. Isothermal drying trials wereconducted in hot air drying and heat pumpdrying at a temperature range of 40 °C-90 °C and 28.6 °C-40.6 °C, respectively.Intermittent drying trials were carried outin heat pump drying with two differentmodes, which are periodic air flow supplyand step-up air temperature. Experimentalresults showed that heat pump drying withlow temperature dehumidified air not onlyenhanced the drying kinetics but alsoproduced a stable final product of ediblebird’s nest. Heat pump-dried edible bird’ssamples retained a high concentration ofsialic acid when an appropriate dryingmode was selected.

The mycotoxin test data base (2005–2009) of the Veterinary PublicHealth Laboratory (VPHL), Department of Veterinary Services, Malaysia (DVS) showed that there was a significant increase (51%) of overall aflatoxin occurrences in various types of animal feed samples, especially those formulated from agricultural by-product, for the year 2008. A study was thus conducted to investigate if there could be some sources of mycotoxin contamination during theperiod of sample handling. Three different laboratory storage conditions were chosen for the study within a period of fourteendays i.e 4 °C, room temperature (in light) with mean relative humidity of 62.5%, and room temperature (in dark) with mean relative humidity of 55.7%. The observations showed that there were nosignificant differences in total aflatoxin, zearalenone, and fumonisin detections in all storage conditions as screened by the ELISA technique. However 11– 50% inconsistencies of the mycotoxinconcentrations detected were observed within the samples.

Refined, Bleached and Deodorized Palm Stearin (RBDPS) is a solid fraction obtained from Refined, Bleached and Deodorized Palm Oil after fractionation by crystallization at controlled temperature. Fractionated RBDPS was found to be enriched with C16 fatty acids,&#xD;lacking in trans fat and has a high melting point. The fractionated RBDPS produced had an iodine value of 13.1 gI2/100g, C16 content of 79.7% and melting point 60°C .These characteristics indicate fractionated RBDPS has potential as a rumen bypass fat as well as providing desirable carbon chain composition for good milk characteristics.

A solar dryer was designed and constructed to dry fodder for livestock. The objectives of this project were to design and construct solar dryer systems for fodder drying and to evaluate the performance of the systems developed so that farmers can compare and choose an appropriate drying system to dry fodder. Two types of solar driers were designed in this study named as a) prototype solar dryer and b)greenhouse solar dryer. The performances of both systems were evaluated by observing their ability to achieve and maintain an optimum temperature of 60oC for a perfect drying process. In 2011, the prototype solar dryer was constructed at the Malaysia Veterinary Institute; however the results obtained were not as expected as the highest temperature achieved with the system was 44.9oC. Therefore, in 2012, the greenhouse solar dryer was constructed to replace the prototype model and the system has the ability to achieve the temperature up to 72.7oC.

The rapid method for predicting palm kernel cake quality with near infrared reflectance spectroscopy was investigated. Chemical tests for moisture, ash, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, total digestible nutrients (TDN), nitrogen free extract (NFE), metabolisable energy (ME), calcium and phosphorous were time&#xD;consuming and involve high cost. This technology can save considerable time by testing all the parameters simultaneously;&#xD;however accurate calibration of the equipment is essential. Near infrared (NIR) partial least square (PLS) regression models for determination of several palm kernel cake quality parameters were&#xD;developed from NIRFlex Model N-500 (Buchi). In general, reliable prediction results were obtained for the TDN (SEP = 0.85 r2 = 0.99), NFE (SEP = 0.42 r2 = 0.97) and crude protein (SEP = 0.57 r2 = 0.98)&#xD;PLS regression models.