Financial losses for Dutch stakeholders during the 2013 aflatoxin incident in Maize in Europe.

Early 2013, high concentrations of aflatoxin M1 were found in the bulk milk of a few dairy farms in the Netherlands. These high concentrations were caused by aflatoxin B1 contaminated maize from Eastern Europe that was processed into compound feed, which was fed to dairy cows. Since the contamination was discovered in the downstream stages of the supply chain, multiple countries and parties were involved and recalls of the feed were necessary, resulting into financial losses. The aim of this study was to estimate the direct short-term financial losses related to the 2013 aflatoxin incident for the maize traders, the feed industry, and the dairy sector in the Netherlands. First, the sequence of events of the incident was retrieved. Then, a Monte Carlo simulation model was built to combine the scarce and uncertain data to estimate the direct financial losses for each stakeholder. The estimated total direct financial losses of this incident were estimated to be between 12 and 25 million euros. The largest share, about 60%, of the total losses was endured by the maize traders. About 39% of the total losses were for the feed industry, and less than 1% of the total losses were for the dairy sector. The financial losses estimated in this study should be interpreted cautiously due to limitations associated with the quality of the data used. Furthermore, this incident led to indirect long-term financial effects, identified but not estimated in this study.

Prevalent Mycotoxins in Animal Feed: Occurrence and Analytical Methods.

Today, we have been witnessing a steady tendency in the increase of global demand for maize, wheat, soybeans, and their products due to the steady growth and strengthening of the livestock industry. Thus, animal feed safety has gradually become more important, with mycotoxins representing one of the most significant hazards. Mycotoxins comprise different classes of secondary metabolites of molds. With regard to animal feed, aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxins, trichothecenes, and zearalenone are the more prevalent ones. In this review, several constraints posed by these contaminants at economical and commercial levels will be discussed, along with the legislation established in the European Union to restrict mycotoxins levels in animal feed. In addition, the occurrence of legislated mycotoxins in raw materials and their by-products for the feeds of interest, as well as in the feeds, will be reviewed. Finally, an overview of the different sample pretreatment and detection techniques reported for mycotoxin analysis will be presented, the main weaknesses of current methods will be highlighted.

Environment contamination by mycotoxins and their occurrence in food and feed: Physiological aspects and economical approach.

The contamination of food and feed by mycotoxins as toxic metabolites of fungi is a risk not only for consumers resulting in various embarrassment regarding health status and well-being, but also for producers, companies and export market on the ground of economic losses and ruined stability of economic trade. As it is given in historical evidence, the contamination of food by mycotoxins is a topic as old as a history of mankind, finding some evidence even in the ancient books and records. Nowadays, the mycotoxins are used in modern biotechnological laboratories and are considered an agent for targeting the specific cells (e.g., defected cells to eliminate them). However, this promising procedure is only the beginning. More concern is focused on mycotoxins as abiotic hazard agents. The dealing with them, systematic monitoring, and development of techniques for their elimination from agricultural commodities are worldwide issues concerning all countries. They can be found alone or in co-occurrence with other mycotoxins. Thus, this review aims to provide widened information regarding mycotoxins contamination in environment with the consequences on health of animals and humans. The inevitability for more data that correctly determine the risk points linked to mycotoxins occurrence and their specific reactions in the environment is demonstrated. This review includes various symptoms in animals and humans that result from mycotoxin exposure. For better understanding of mycotoxin's impact on animals, the sensitivities of various animal species to various mycotoxins are listed. Strategies for elimination and preventing the risks of mycotoxins contamination as well as economical approach are discussed. To complete the topic, some data from past as historical evidences are presented.

Economics of mycotoxins: evaluating costs to society and cost-effectiveness of interventions.

The economic impacts of mycotoxins to human society can be thought of in two ways: (i) the direct market costs associated with lost trade or reduced revenues due to contaminated food or feed, and (ii) the human health losses from adverse effects associated with mycotoxin consumption. Losses related to markets occur within systems in which mycotoxins are being monitored in the food and feed supply. Food that has mycotoxin levels above a particular maximum allowable level is either rejected outright for sale or sold at a lower price for a different use. Such transactions can take place at local levels or at the level of trade among countries. Sometimes this can result in heavy economic losses for food producers, but the benefit of such monitoring systems is a lower risk of mycotoxins in the food supply. Losses related to health occur when mycotoxins are present in food at levels that can cause illness. In developed countries, such losses are often measured in terms of cost of illness; around the world, such losses are more frequently measured in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). It is also useful to assess the economics of interventions to reduce mycotoxins and their attendant health effects; the relative effectiveness of public health interventions can be assessed by estimating quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) associated with each intervention. Cost-effectiveness assessment can be conducted to compare the cost of implementing the intervention with the resulting benefits, in terms of either improved markets or improved human health. Aside from cost-effectiveness, however, it is also important to assess the technical feasibility of interventions, particularly in low-income countries, where funds and infrastructures are limited.

Fescue toxicosis and its impact on animal agriculture.

Studies of fescue toxicosis have identified several classes of plant/fungal alkaloids that may be responsible for the toxicosis problem of endophyte (Acremonium coenophialum) infected tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea). This review explores the interaction of these alkaloids with the animal's system and attempts to explain the various anomalies of fescue toxicosis through discussion of both in vitro and in vivo experiments.