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Mould and mycotoxin contamination of pig feed in northwest Croatia

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the contamination of pig feed with moulds and the occurrence of mycotoxins. A total of 30 feed samples were collected at different animal feed factories in the north-western part of Croatia. Mycological analysis showed that the total number of moulds ranged from 1 × 103 to 1 × 105 cfu/g with samples contaminated with Aspergillus spp. (63 %), Penicillium spp. (80 %), and Fusarium spp. (77 %). A determination of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 toxin (T-2) and fumonisin (FUM) concentration was done using the validated ELISA method. The mean concentrations of AFB1 (0.5 ± 0.6 μg/kg), OTA (1.53 ± 0.42 μg/kg) and FUM (405 ± 298 μg/kg) were below the maximum levels or recommended values in the EU in all the investigated samples. The observed results indicated an increased contamination of pig feed with Fusarium mycotoxins DON and ZEA with mean concentrations of 817 ± 447 and 184 ± 214 μg/kg, higher than recommended in 40 and 17 % of the analysed samples, respectively.

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Acknowledgment

This work is supported by Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia without external financial support.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Public Health, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska 143, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Jelka Pleadin, Manuela Zadravec, Nina Perši, Ana Vulić & Mario Mitak

  2. Veterinary Centre Križevci, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Ivana Z. Dijankovečkog 10, 48260, Križevci, Croatia

    Vesna Jaki

Authors
  1. Jelka Pleadin
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  2. Manuela Zadravec
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  3. Nina Perši
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  4. Ana Vulić
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  5. Vesna Jaki
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  6. Mario Mitak
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Correspondence to Jelka Pleadin.

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Pleadin, J., Zadravec, M., Perši, N. et al. Mould and mycotoxin contamination of pig feed in northwest Croatia. Mycotoxin Res 28, 157–162 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-012-0130-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-012-0130-2

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