Mycotoxins are toxic secondary fungal metabolites that can negatively affect animal productivity when ingested through feed. In order to assess mycotoxin contamination of poultry feed and feed ingredients vis-a-vis source tracking of feed contamination in Nigeria, 102 samples of feed ( n = 30) and feed ingredients ( n = 72) were collected from in-house mills of poultry farms across 12 states of Nigeria and analyzed for multiple mycotoxins using LC/MS-MS. One hundred and forty microbial metabolites were detected in the feed and feed ingredients. The most frequent mycotoxin in the feed was fumonisin B 1 , occurring in 97% of the samples at mean concentration of 1014 μg kg −1 . AFB 1 occurred in 83% of the feed samples at mean concentration of 74 μg kg −1 and in all feed ingredients except fish meal and other cereals (millet and rice). Feed samples analyzed in this study were contaminated with at least four mycotoxins: aflatoxins and fumonisin co-occurring in 80% of the samples. Peanut cake and maize contributed the most to the levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin, respectively, in the feed. Consequently, there is a need to explore other cereal- and protein-based ingredients for compounding feeds in order to reduce the risk associated with high mycotoxin (e.g. aflatoxin) intake in poultry. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12550-018-0337-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Natural shea butter (NSB), extracted by traditional methods resulting in its poor quality, is nevertheless widely traded within Africa and beyond due to its several useful applications. This study examined effects of simulated laboratory/domestic heat treatments on quality of the commodity obtained from a cross section of Nigerian markets. Physicochemical and microbiological qualities of NSB samples procured from four selected  markets located across three Nigerian states were evaluated by standard methods before and after graduated thermal stress treatments from 50 through 120 °C over 5, 15, or 30 min durations, respectively, and filtration at 60 °C. Mean physicochemical quality values of NSB samples determined, namely: specific gravity at 29 °C (0.90-0.94); softening, melting temperatures (33-36, 36-39 °C; respectively); acid, iodine, and saponification values (10.5- 29.3, 46.4-59.1, 110-470; respectively), were not adversely or significantly altered by the thermal treatment types and stresses. Whereas all untreated NSB samples demonstrated microbial contamination (total viable counts: 3 6 10 -10 cfu/g) with Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Aspergillus, or Candida species, the graduated heat treatments produced varied sanitizing effects. Higher temperatures (100, 120 °C) gave greater and more rapid cleansing action than the lower temperatures (50, 75 °C), both intensity-ranges being aided by length of holding time. Hot filtration eliminated all the NSB contaminants. In conclusion, while untreated NSB is found grossly contaminated by microbes, unhygienic and unsafe for human use, this study has demonstrated efficient contaminants-cleansing action of heat treatments (³100 °C × ³ 30 min) on NSB, and the total sanitizing effect of hot filtration process. Key words: Natural shea butter, Physicochemical quality, Microbiological quality, Heat treatment, Hot filtration.