Occurrence of fumonisins in feed for swine and horses.

BACKGROUND Fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2), and overall mycotoxins feed contamination may cause several effects on crops production and animal health. The contamination occurred predominantly in corn and corn-based foods and feeds. AIMS This survey intends to provide the occurrence of fumonisins in swine and equine mixed feeds in Portugal, making an overview from 2007 to 2010. METHODS A total of 363 samples were analyzed, 258 from swine feed and 105 from horse feed with HPLC method. The detection limit was 50 μg/kg for FB1 and 100 μg/kg for FB2. RESULTS The overall results were 13% of FB1 occurrence from 2007 to 2010. FB1 was detected in about 17.0% of swine feed samples, being more frequent in 2010 (32.9%). In this year (2010) levels ranged between 66.7 and 3815.5 μg/kg. FB2 occurred only in 2010 in swine feed (6 samples, ranging between 104.0 to 467.2 μg/kg) and in horse feed (1 sample). CONCLUSIONS This represents an increase in occurrence through the analyzed years, but this may not be a threat to animal health, once the values were below the recommended guidance values from European Commission.