Cargill Mycotoxin Report Underlines Need for Targeted Approach to Widely Varying Problem—INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

31 January 2022- In farming, no two experiences are ever quite the same. The market environment constantly fluctuates, affecting the relative prices of different inputs. The weather, of course, can deliver drought one year and unseasonable wetness another. Practices such as tilling and chemical use evolve, driven by trial and error, scientific breakthroughs, or new regulation.

All of these add up to a mycotoxin environment which is in constant flux. The best way to get a handle on this enormously complex landscape, according to Cargill, is by gathering a massive dataset which is broad enough to cover diverse geographies and production systems and deep enough to draw meaningful conclusions from. This is what the company has done, and the fruits of that labour are now available in the form of Cargill’s first ever World Mycotoxin Report. Today, we are joined by Cargill Animal Nutrition’s Clement Soulet, Global Category Manager for Additives and Thomas Pecqueur, Global Technology Lead for Additives, to unpack the insights from this work.

[Feedinfo] This is the first report of its kind from Cargill. Why did you see a need for its development? And what sets it apart from other mycotoxin reports/surveys out there?

As we were receiving more questions and interest in changing mycotoxin contamination levels from around the globe, we knew we had an opportunity to share our vast insights and experience. With this report, Cargill seeks to expand global understanding of mycotoxin contamination, track trends, and support efforts to predict and prevent mycotoxin risks and potential impacts before they become a problem.

[Feedinfo] How long has this report been in the works?

[Clement Soulet] Cargill Animal Nutrition has been collecting data and compiling reports on mycotoxin contamination for years, initially at region or country levels. Historically, this data was used for our internal operations. We then began sharing the data with customers to help them implement the right mycotoxin control plan, take mycotoxin levels into consideration in their formulation systems, and comply with feed safety and regulatory requirements. Last year, we made the decision to share the aggregate data globally in the form of a report.

In 2021 we conducted over 328,000 analyses. Year-over-year analysis for the past 4 years includes over one million analyses for all six key mycotoxins: Aflatoxin, Vomitoxin, Fumonisin, Ochratoxin, T2 toxin and Zearalenone. The database includes analyses conducted daily at Cargill’s 150+ global feed processing plants, on-farm sampling, and sampling from storage locations located in more than 50 countries worldwide. The breadth of data allows us to better track trends and provide our customers with more accurate and localized assessments as it pertains to the presence of mycotoxins in feed.

[Feedinfo] What are some of the key global trends for 2021 that this report reveals? How big an economic impact did mycotoxins have on the industry in 2021?

[Thomas Pecqueur] The report identifies three key global trends for mycotoxin contamination in 2021:

• High number of positive samples – at 72%, contamination is more likely than not
• Positive does not mean concerning – 35% of samples had mycotoxin levels above Cargill’s performance risk thresholds
• The “Big Four” are the most prevalent – Vomitoxin (80%), Fumonisin (78%), Zearalenone (72%) and Aflatoxin (64%) are the top mycotoxins occurring worldwide

Evaluating the economic impact of mycotoxin contamination is complex. The direct impact (crop loss) varies across mycotoxin and crop type. Indirect impacts include impaired animal health and lower growth performance. In one 2021 example, contamination from Vomitoxin and other mycotoxins in the U.S. led to an estimated 1.5% decrease in swine performance, amounting to a loss of around $1.50 per pig or more. With annual production of around 120 million pigs, the potential loss was $180 million.

[Feedinfo] Mycotoxin prevalence is known to vary widely according to region. What does the report reveal about risk levels across key feed markets? And how can these differences be explained?

[Thomas Pecqueur] Mycotoxin contamination and concentration varies over time due to multiple factors, including crop type, location, weather, and agricultural practices. It can also be extremely heterogeneous within a single field or raw material batch due to inequal distribution of fungal contamination. Non-standardized sampling procedures also can create margin of error in reporting.

To correct for the bias linked to heterogeneity, it is crucial to gather as many datapoints as possible. Thanks to our data centralization, Cargill can generate a critical information mass that allows us to properly characterize the risk for a given region, species, or ingredient – all in real time – and create an efficient mitigation and control plan.

Cargill’s extensive database allows us to identify global trends. For example, the average mycotoxin contamination level for Aflatoxin was most prevalent in Southeast Asia, which also had a higher prevalence of Fumonisin compared to other regions. China and Latin America saw higher prevalence rates of Fumonisin and Vomitoxin. In Europe and North America there was a higher detection rate of Vomitoxin. Russia remains the region with the lowest prevalence rates overall.

[Feedinfo] What has this report revealed about how successful current industry approaches to mycotoxin mitigation are? What can be improved upon?

[Clement Soulet] Mycotoxins remain widespread and unavoidable, so mycotoxin contamination of raw materials will continue to be the rule, not the exception. Fortunately, there are effective ways to minimize mycotoxin risk and impact.

More generic approaches to mycotoxin mitigation will only offer limited benefits. For example, using the same amount of anti-mycotoxin agents per metric ton of feed, regardless of risk level, will reduce the impact of mycotoxins to some extent. This approach will not, however, optimize animal productivity and operation profitability.

A proactive, customized approach to mycotoxin risk management is the key to winning the battle against mycotoxins. By developing informed and targeted plans that rapidly identify and anticipate the threat of mycotoxin contamination levels, feed formulators and farmers can minimize risk while potentially decreasing the cost of doing so.

Cargill Animal Nutrition puts our extensive risk management expertise to work helping customers implement the right mycotoxin mitigation strategy at the right place and the right time. Simultaneously, we continue to study and evolve our methods. Further research will help us to improve analysis and risk assessment through:

• Faster and cheaper measurement methods with lower detection limits; and
• A better understanding of the impacts on animal health from chronic exposure to mycotoxins, the role of co-contaminations, and the detection of masked and emerging mycotoxins.

[Feedinfo] What about 2022? What can this report’s findings tell us about the mycotoxin threats to expect in the new year?

[Clement Soulet] Mycotoxin contamination is a multifactor issue, and unfortunately long-term prediction methodologies are unreliable. We know the mycotoxins of concern for 2022, as well as the current trends, but we don’t know to what extent or exactly how contamination will evolve. Therefore, ongoing analysis and access to a real-time database is critical to evaluating contamination and adopting the right counteraction strategies over the course of the year.

The report does identify trends worth watching. Fumonisin, Vomitoxin and Zearalenone are the mycotoxins to watch for levels exceeding the Cargill performance risk thresholds. It’s important to note that, over the past several years, Vomitoxin and Zearalenone have shown a heightened risk (increase of 5 and 4 percentage points, respectively), while Fumonisin risk has decreased by 11 percentage points.

Another area we will be keeping a close eye on is climate change. Since mycotoxins are produced by molds as a natural defense response to environmental factors, changes in climate conditions can lead to significant shifts in mycotoxin distribution patterns, frequency, and spread. With a changing climate, we anticipate an accelerating contamination trend in new geographical areas and in raw ingredients and crops over the next five years.

[Feedinfo] How are the report and its findings being incorporated into Cargill’s own mycotoxin mitigation strategies?

[Thomas Pecqueur] The report is just one resource we’ve been able to create using our comprehensive mycotoxin contamination database, which is continuously updated with analyses run from Cargill Animal Nutrition, our customers, and other Cargill businesses. The database allows us to leverage both targeted regional data and high-level global data for greater accuracy and confidence. We will be assessing trends uncovered in the report throughout the year as well as monitoring for emerging trends and threats to come to adjust our strategy and help our customers to successfully navigate and mitigate ever-evolving mycotoxin contamination risks.

Addressing contamination requires a targeted and optimized anti-mycotoxin agent application in feed, in direct response to reported toxin levels in a given operation or region. Cargill believes it is more efficient and less expensive to analyze often, identify the timeliest risks, and apply solutions as needed. This is the best way to maximize performance while reducing cost – and is also how we’ve successfully counteracted mycotoxins in our feed production for more than a decade.

Published in association with Cargill Animal Nutrition