Incidence of Fusarium mycotoxins in chicken feed mixtures from Slovakia

A total of 50 samples of chicken feed mixtures of Slovakian origin were analysed for eleven toxicologically significant Fusarium mycotoxins, namely fumonisin B1 and B2 (FB1, FB2), moniliformin (MON), zearalenone (ZON), A-trichothecenes: diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), T-2 toxin (T-2) and HT-2 toxin (HT-2) and B-trichothecenes: deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-ADON), 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15-ADON) and nivalenol (NIV). All of the samples proved to be contaminated with at least two of the mycotoxins screened. FB1 was detected in 49 samples (98%) in concentrations ranging from 43 to 798 micro g per kg of sample and FB2 in 42 samples (84%) in concentrations ranging from 26 to 362 micro g per kg of sample. MON was detected in 26 samples (52%) in concentrations that ranged from 42 to 1,214 micro g per kg of sample. T-2 was found in 45 samples (90%) in relatively low concentrations ranging from 1 to 130 micro g per kg (average 13 micro g per kg), followed by ZON that was found in 44 samples (88%) in concentrations ranging from 3 to 86 micro g per kg (average 21 micro g per kg). HT-2 and DON were detected in 38 (76%) and 28 (56%) samples, respectively, in concentrations of 2 to 173 (average 18 micro g per kg) for HT-2 and 64 to 1,230 micro g per kg sample (average 303 micro g per kg) for DON. The acetyl-derivatives of DON were in just four samples, while NIV was not detected in any of the samples investigated. In a relatively large proportion of the feeds tested, a combination of six or even eight simultaneously co-occurring mycotoxins was revealed. Despite the limited number of samples investigated during this study, it might be concluded that chicken feed mixtures may represent a risk from a toxicological point of view and should be regarded as a potential source of the Fusarium mycotoxins in Central Europe. This is the first reported study dealing with a Fusarium mycotoxin contamination of poultry mixed feeds from Slovakia.