Aquaculture's overlooked mycotoxin problem

With more grain- and plant-based ingredients, mycotoxins are increasingly common in aquafeed. Research hasn't always kept up.

Though documentation of the negative effects of mycotoxins in aquafeed dates back to the 1970s, the fungal toxins often don't get the level of attention from the aquaculture industry that they see in livestock production. And on some level, that makes sense, according to Dr. Roy Rosen, DVM, a development scientist at dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health. Traditionally, the greater inclusion of animal proteins meant aquafeed carried a lower risk of mycotoxin contamination than feeds for other animal species.

But that's changing with the increased use of plant-based ingredients and byproducts such as DDGS in aquafeed.