Assessment of information as regards the toxicity of fumonisins for pigs, poultry and horses

Abstract

In 2018, the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) adopted a Scientific Opinion on the risks for animal health related to the presence of fumonisins, their modified forms and hidden forms in feed. A no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of 1 mg/kg feed was established for pigs.In poultry a NOAEL of 20 mg/kg feed and in horses a reference point for adverse animal health effect of 8.8 mg/kg feed was established, referred to as NOAEL. The European Commission (EC) requested EFSA to review the information regarding the toxicity of fumonisins for pigs, poultry and horses and to revise, if necessary, the established NOAELs. The EFSA CONTAM Panel considered that the term reference point (RP) for adverse animal health effects better reflects the uncertainties in the available studies. New evidence which had become available since the previous opinion allowed to revise an RP for adverse animal health effects for poultry from 20 mg/kg to 1 mg/kg feed (based on a LOAEL of 2.5 mg/kg feed for reduced intestinal crypt depth) and for horses from 8.8 to 1.0 mg/kg feed (based on case studies on equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM)). For pigs, the previously established NOAEL was confirmed as no further studies suitable for deriving an RP for adverse animal health effects could be identified. Based on exposure estimates performed in the previous opinion, the risk of adverse health effects of feeds containing FB1-3 was considered a concern for poultry, when taking into account the RP of 1 mg/kg feed for intestinal effects. For horses and other solipeds, the risk is considered low, although a large uncertainty associated with exposure was identified. The same conclusions apply to the sum of FB1-3 and their hidden forms.

Endotoxin Translocation Is Increased in Broiler Chickens Fed a Fusarium Mycotoxin-Contaminated Diet

“…Intriguingly, FBs (13 mg/kg feed) also resulted in decreased body weight gain, over the whole trial period (Day 1–24). These findings underscore the fact that mycotoxins can exert significant effects on broilers health and corroborates the updated opinion of the EFSA panel to lower the reference levels from 5 to 0.6 mg/kg feed DON for broiler chicken and turkey, and from 20 to 1 mg/kg FBs for poultry [ 5 , 6 ].…”

“…While information regarding FBs is relatively limited, there are reports demonstrating its negative effects on gut health, including gut integrity and inflammation [ 4 ]. Recently, the EFSA panel lowered the reference point for adverse animal health effects for FBs from 20 to 1 mg/kg feed in poultry [ 6 ].…”

Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Foods: Unraveling the Knowledge Gaps on Their Persistence in Food Production Systems

“…This corroborates data presented in previous studies, where cereals with a widespread consumption were widely examined for mycotoxins [20,23]. In search for mycotoxins, around 28 different metabolites comprising their (less or un)familiar, emerging, and conjugated forms were evaluated, in which several have properly regulated and estimated tolerable limits, with toxicity details for the specific ingredient of interest as [8,[24][25][26][27][28][29]. Regarding the overall samples evaluated in studies conducted between 2017 and 2022 and detailed in Table 1, higher contamination rates were observed for trichothecene type B (TTB) toxins (58.53%), FBs (51.19%), ZEN (40.25%), and AFs (17%), as depicted in Figure 1.…”

Monitoring Mycotoxin Exposure in Food-Producing Animals (Cattle, Pig, Poultry, and Sheep)

“…There are various different FBs, the most important being fumonisin B1 (FB1) (the most widespread), fumonisin B2 (FB2), fumonisin B3 (FB3), and fumonisin B4 (FB4). Species differences in the toxicokinetics of these compounds have been found [96]. Unlike other mycotoxins, FBs are polar molecules and, therefore, are soluble in water.…”