Mycotoxins in poultry production - A threat to avoid!

摘要

Although existing for thousands of years, it was in 1960, with the death of 100,000 turkey poults and many ducks, chickens and pheasants in the United Kingdom, that the discovery of mycotoxins was initiated. Mycotoxins are produced worldwide by fungiand are known to negatively impact production parameters and health of animals ingesting contaminated feeds. Regarding the animal production and the agriculture sectors, the most important mycotoxins to be considered are aflatoxins, trichothecenes (namely T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol, aka DON), zearalenone, fumonisins and ochratoxin A. Mycotoxin's impact and symptomatology varies greatly with animal, toxin-related and environmental factors.