Abstract
Dairy farming feed can be contaminated with mycotoxins affecting animals' health and milk quality. Additionally, dairy farming is an environment prone to occupational exposure to mycotoxins and feed is recognized as a contamination source of the workplace environment. An exploratory study was developed in a dairy farm located in Portugal intending to assess the mycotoxins present in the feed. All the samples analyzed presented at least contamination by two mycotoxins to a maximum of 13 mycotoxins in the same sample. ZEA was detected in all the samples (n=10) followed by DON that was reported in 8 samples and OTA in 5 samples. The obtained results point out to the possible contamination of milk by several mycotoxins and for the possible occupational exposure to mycotoxins due to feed contamination. An adequate One Health approach for dairy production should address these issues through effective preventive actions such as avoiding the use of feed contaminated with mycotoxins. This represents an important aspect of the foreseen challenges due to climate change that requires proper attention and accurate management measures. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1118-1123 |
Journal | Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture |
Volume | 100 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 31 Oct 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |