Mycotoxins: A Review of Dairy Concerns

Molds are filamentous (fuzzy or dusty looking) fungi that occur in many feedstuffs including roughages and concentrates. Molds can infect dairy cattle, especially during stressful periods when they are immune suppressed, causing a disease referred to as mycosis. Molds also produce poisons called mycotoxins that affect animals when they consume mycotoxin contaminated feeds. This disorder is called mycotoxicosis. Mycotoxins are produced by a wide range of different molds and are classified as secondary metabolites, meaning that their function is not essential to the mold’s existence. The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that worldwide, about 25% of crops are affected annually with mycotoxins (Jelinek, 1987). Such surveys reveal sufficiently high occurrences and concentrations of mycotoxins to suggest that mycotoxins are a constant concern. Tables 1 and 2 provide mycotoxin occurrence and concentration of farmer submitted feedstuffs in North Carolina over several years.