A limited survey of aflatoxins in poultry feed and feed ingredients in Guyana

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the presence of aflatoxins in finished poultry feed from manufacturing companies, feed ingredients, and poultry feed at the point of sale. Two collections were made. In the first collection, samples of the finished feed and feed ingredients were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). For the second collection, all samples were analyzed by ELISA while a subset was analyzed by HPLC. Of the 27 samples of finished feed, five samples had aflatoxin concentrations greater than the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and European Union Commission (EUC) maximum tolerable limit of 20 μg/kg, while for the feed ingredients, three of the 30 samples of feed ingredients exceeded the limit. Of the 93 samples of finished feed purchased from retailers, five samples had aflatoxin concentrations greater than the maximum tolerable limit. This survey indicates that most of the samples were below the maximum regulatory limit and maintained quality up to the point of sale for 2015 and 2016. However, given that some samples were above the limit, there is a need to monitor the production and marketing chain to ensure that the quality of the finished feed is not compromised.