Table 1. Most Recent Mycotoxin Studies on Commercial Pet Fooda.
| location and year of sampling/publication | type of pet food investigated | mycotoxins detected | most relevant results | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poland (2004) | 57 pet foods (41 standard and 16 therapeutic samples) | ZEA (and its derivatives) | ZEA was identified in 84.2% of the samples (mean concentration 36.2 μg/kg). Max values in standard and therapeutic samples were 299.5 and 158 μg/kg, respectively. | (6) |
| Austria (2007) | 29 dry dog foods and 11 wet dog foods | DON and OTA | DON was identified in all the dry samples (range between 22 and 1837 μg/kg); 27% of the samples were positive for DON (range between 95 and 170 μg/kg); OTA contaminated 10% of the dry samples (range between 7 and 40 μg/kg) and 18% of the wet samples (range between 45 and 115 μg/kg). | (7) |
| Austria (2007) | 76 dry dog foods | DON, ZEA, fumonisins, OTA, and aflatoxins | 83% of the samples were positive for DON (mean of 409 μg/kg, max of 1390 μg/kg); 47% of the samples were positive for ZEA (mean of 80 μg/kg, max of 298 μg/kg); 42% of the samples were positive for fumonisins (mean of 178 μg/kg, max of 568 μg/kg); OTA was less frequently found (5% of the positive samples); aflatoxins were not detected. | (8) |
| Brazil (2010/2011) | 100 dry dog foods | ZEA, fumonisins, and aflatoxins | 68% of the samples were positive for fumonisins (max of FB1 + FB2, 380 μg/kg); 95% of the samples were positive for ZEA (max 442.2 μg/kg); 68% of the samples were positive for aflatoxins (max of 3.88 μg/kg). | (9) |
| Italy (2011) | 41 dry dog foods (32 complete and 9 complementary) | FB1 and FB2 | FB1 and FB2 were quantified in 63.4 and 56.1% of the samples, respectively. The range of FB1 + FB2 was between 150 and 8800 μg/kg. Two samples (one complete and one complementary dog food), containing 5190 and 8800 μg/kg of FB1 + FB2, respectively, exceeded the European guidance value (5000 μg/kg). | (10) |
| South Africa (2011) | 60 dog foods | ZEA, fumonisins, aflatoxins, and OTA | 87% of the samples were positive for aflatoxins (mainly AFB1 and AFB2): mean of 248 μg/kg, range between 1.2 and 353 μg/kg; most of the samples (75%) contained levels above the regulatory limits. Fumonisins were detected in 98% of the samples: mean of 1556 μg/kg, range between 5.2 and 4654 μg/kg. OTA was detected in 68% of the samples (mean of 13.7 μg/kg, range between 0.5 and 53.6 μg/kg). ZEA was detected in 96% of the samples (mean value of 354 μg/kg, range between 2.5 and 2351 μg/kg). | (11) |
| Poland (2014) | 25 dry dog foods and 24 dry cat foods | DON, ZEA, fumonisins, aflatoxins, OTA, T-2, and HT-2 | All the samples were positive for DON and ZEA (max of 436 and 123 μg/kg, respectively); T-2 was detected in 88% and HT-2 in 84% of the samples (max of 13.3 and 19.6 μg/kg, respectively); 29% of the samples were positive for fumonisins (max of 108 μg/kg); 45% of the samples were positive for OTA (max of 3 μg/kg); AFB1 was identified at LOD level (0.05 μg/kg) in 8% of the samples | (12) |
| Egypt (2014) | 20 pet food (5 wet dog foods, 5 wet cat foods, 5 dry dog foods, 5 dry cat foods) | ZEA, total aflatoxins, AFB1, and OTA | 15% of the samples were positive for AFB1 (max 18.4 μg/kg); OTA was detected in most of the samples (max 6.65 μg/kg); ZEA was measured in 20% of the samples at levels between 148 and 1170 μg/kg. | (13) |
| Italy (2015) | 48 dry dog foods | DON, ZEA, fumonisins, OTA, and aflatoxins | DON, fumonisins, and OTA were the most common mycotoxins (100, 88, and 81% of the positive samples, respectively); max values were 281, 1746 (FB1 + FB2), and 41.1 μg/kg, respectively. Fumonisin and OTA contamination was higher in standard than in premium dog foods. No sample contained quantifiable amounts of AFB1 and AFG1 (<LOQ, 0.05 μg/kg). AFB2 or AFG2 was measured in 12% of the samples (max of 15.8 μg/kg); 25% of the samples contained ZEA at quantifiable levels (max value of 42.4 μg/kg). | (14) |
| South Africa (2017) | 20 dry dog foods | ZEA, fumonisins, aflatoxins, and OTA | All the samples were positive for fumonisins (levels of FB1 or FB2 above 20 μg/kg; standard dog foods were more contaminated than premium ones); OTA and ZEA were detected in most of the samples at very low concentrations; aflatoxins were identified in all the samples with relatively high concentrations of AFB1 (5 standard and 5 premium dog foods contained AFB1 at levels above 10 μg/kg) | (15) |
| China (2017) | 32 dry pet foods | DON, ZEA, FB1, AFB1, AFG1, OTA and T-2, citrin, and beauvericin | Only one sample was free of contamination. All the other samples (96.9%) contained at least three mycotoxins. DON, ZEA, AFB1, FB1, citrin, and beauvericin displayed a relatively high occurrence (78.1, 62.5, 87.5, 93.8, 68.8, and 96.9%, respectively). AFB1 exceeded the European regulatory limit in all the positive samples (range, 30.3–242.7 μg/kg). T-2 was found in only one sample (15.4 μg/kg) and OTA in two samples (15.1 and 17.3 μg/kg). | (16) |
| Poland (2019) | 42 therapeutic foods (17 samples for cats and 25 samples for dogs) | DON, ZEA, FB1, and nivalenol | ZEA was detected in 69% (range, 1.22–51.7 μg/kg), DON in 52% (24.87–2451 μg/kg), FB1 in 33% (4.89–80.13 μg/kg), and nivalenol in 26% (17.43–200 μg/kg) of the samples. The highest level of mycotoxins was quantified in samples aimed to nutritionally support allergies (ZEA), renal diseases (FB1), and obesity (DON and nivalenol). | (17) |
a
ZEA, zearalenone; DON, deoxynivalenol; OTA, ochratoxin A; FB1, fumonisin B1; FB2, fumonisin B2; AFB1, aflatoxin B1; AFB2, aflatoxin B2; AFG1, aflatoxin G1; AFG2, aflatoxin G2; HT-2, HT-2 toxin; T-2, T-2 toxin; LOQ, limit of quantification.