Alltech Mycotoxin Management

WHAT ARE MYCOTOXINS?Mycotoxins are natural substances produced by moulds. All natural materials and many man-made ones are subject to contamination by moulds and under favourable environmental conditions, when temperature and moisture are conducive, these fungi proliferate and may produce mycotoxins. Over 500 mycotoxins have been identified and this number is steadily increasing.Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of moulds. This means that they are not produced by the mould all of the time, but most commonly when the mould is “stressed”, sometimes as a form of defence. Examples of mould stressors include drought, excess moisture and plant disease.Although stressful conditions that cause the production of mycotoxins are unavoidable in the natural world, it is important that the correct practices are put into place to minimise the risk to animals as much as possible.Mycotoxins are also toxic. This means that they can negatively affect the health of animals if contaminated feedstuffs are ingested. The symptoms can be many and varied, but the outcome in all cases will be reduced performance and lost profits.Effective mycotoxin management is about seeing the whole challenge, from the farm to feed mill and from risk assessment to feed management. The Alltech Mycotoxin Management Team provide a number of solutions to help you safeguard the health of animals, the quality of your feed and the security of our food supply.