Determination of Aflatoxin B1, Zearalenone and Deoxynivalenol in Feedstuffs and Aflatoxin M1 in Bulk-Tank Milk at Dairy Cattle Farms

Mycotoxin contamination causes serious economical and toxicological problems in animal products. Dairy cattle breeding industry is one of the most suffering animal breeding industry by this hazard. Generally the toxication develops chronically and it does not show any clinical sign on animals. Therefore it is very difficult to identify the mycotoxin contamination in the farm site. This study aims to determine levels of aflatoxin B1 (AF B1), total aflatoxin (B1+B2+G1+G2), zearalenone and deoxynivalenol in feedstuffs and the level of aflatoxin M1 with Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) in milk at dairy cattle companies. For this purpose, feedstuffs (corn silage, dry clover and concentrated feed) and milk (bulk tank) samples were taken from 50 different dairy cattle breeding companies in the Aegean Region. As a result, levels of AF B1, total AF (B1+B2+G1+G2), zearalenone and deoxynivalenol levels were determined respectively between 0.05-36.09, 0.06-44.01, 5-675 and 3-909 ppb in corn silage samples; 0.14-22.53, 0.16-27.66, 2-796 and 3-692 ppb in dry clover samples; 0.12-16.90, 0.15-18.57, 4-639 and 1-877 ppb in concentrate feed mix samples. The level of AF M1 was found between 0.001-0.054 ppb in milk samples