MYCOTOXINS IN A CHANGING WORLD

Mycotoxins are chemicals produced by fungi that can occur in grains and other feeds and foods.Grain and livestock producers need to minimize mycotoxin contamination of food, forage, and feed to reduce the deleterious effects of mycotoxins on consumers and livestock. The presence of the mycotoxin zearalenone in swine feeds has led to serious issues for the industry in recent years. In particular, ingestion of zearalenone contaminated feed can result in uterine prolapse in sows ending their breeding life. Plant breeders have had success in producing plants with some resistance to mycotoxigenic fungi; however, this resistance does not always correlate with reduced mycotoxin contamination. This confounding issue needs to be understood and resolved to improve plant breeding strategies and for seed producers to be able to generate clean viable seed.Additionally, cost-effective methods to predict, monitor, and minimize mycotoxin production in the field, and to detoxify mycotoxins and prevent further deterioration in contaminated feed, are needed by producers of grain and livestock. The lowering of tolerance limits for mycotoxins in overseas markets has increased the burden for grain buyers and food processors; currently, levels of mycotoxins that are acceptable for some US products are unacceptable in European and Asian markets, resulting in non-tariff trade barriers. The EU is considering regulating up to 30 additional compounds. If implemented this will require US grain and livestock producers be able to assess and prevent the presence of these mycotoxins above regulatory limits. Finally, workers who are responsible for animal and human health need information about the toxicity, carcinogenicity, modes of action, and biomarkers of exposure and disease for all categories of mycotoxins. This information would be used to train health-care providers to identify exposure and treat related disease, as well as to develop accurate risk assessment.