TOXIGENIC FUNGI AND MYCOTOXIN CONTENT IN POULTRY FEEDSTUFF INGREDIENTS

Fifty isolates of Aspergillus flavus as well as 25 isolates of each of A. fumigatus, A. ochraceus, A. terreus and Fusarium spp. isolated from poultry feeds were screened for toxin production. Of these isolates, 20% have been detected to exhibit toxigenic activity. The mycotoxin content was determined in samples of grind maize, cotton-seed cake, fish meal, wheat bran and soybean meal. 80% of maize samples were highly contaminated with aflatoxins (480 mug/kg) and zearalenone (40 mug/kg). Aflatoxins B1 and B2 were found in 50 and 30% of cotton-seed cake and fish meal, respectively. With wheat bran, 40% of the samples contained aflatoxin B1 and zearalenone. Soybean meal appeared to be a poor substrate for mycotoxin formation.