Written by: Randy Ford, Sr. Food Safety Compliance Manager for Red Collar Pet Foods
Mycotoxins are chemicals produced by different molds growing on food sources, primarily on grains such as corn, wheat, oats, and milo. Some of these toxins can be very harmful to the people or animals that consume foods that were made from contaminated ingredients. Mycotoxins are not new and have been around for as long as there have been crops to harvest. There are many historical references to “poisonings” from things like mushrooms and moldy grains that can, more than likely, be attributed to mycotoxins.
There are literally hundreds of mycotoxins; however, there is a small group that are likely to be more prevalent in animal foods, including pet foods.
Aflatoxin
There have been multiple recalls in recent years, including in the last several months, for pet food products containing the mycotoxin known as aflatoxin. Produced by the mold Aspergillus, found most commonly in corn, aflatoxin is a chemical that can cause serious harm to animals if consumed in large enough quantities.
For dogs and cats, there is a maximum amount of this toxin allowed in their foods. That limit is 20 parts per billion. Yes, per billion. That doesn’t sound like much, but foods consumed with levels exceeding this limit can cause liver damage and can also cause various forms of cancer. A single dose of food containing a very high level, for example, 100 ppb or higher, can actually be deadly with just a single feeding.
Vomitoxin
Another mycotoxin that can be found in pet food is deoxynivalenol (DON), also known as vomitoxin. This toxin is produced by Fusarium molds found most commonly in wheat and barley. As the name implies, if consumed, vomitoxin can cause animals to vomit and ultimately refuse to eat that food. Although vomitoxin can cause serious gastric upset, it is not usually associated with lethality.
Zearalenone
Zearalenone is a toxin that has increased in notoriety in the past few years for pet food producers. This toxin is also produced by Fusarium molds. Zearalenone primarily affects females with symptoms related to reproduction, resulting in smaller litter sizes and potential developmental issues caused by hormonal imbalances. While serious, ingestion of this toxin is not typically lethal.
Summary
As you can see, these toxins range in toxicity and can cause a variety of symptoms, illnesses, and in some cases, even death. Certain weather and storage conditions create conditions more favorable for the growth of these mold types. For example, drought induced stress to corn crops can lead to the Aspergillus molds that produce aflatoxin. Fusarium molds that produce vomitoxin and zearalenone occur during colder and wetter growing and storage conditions.
The Red Collar Pet Food Solution for Preventing Mycotoxin
How does Red Collar prevent mycotoxin contamination to our pet food products? We take a multi-pronged approach to this serious issue.
The absolute best approach is to be sure to use grains that are not contaminated. This is much easier said than done, as crop growth conditions are highly variable and can be different from crop year to crop year and even within a crop year. Therefore, it is extremely important to have a working knowledge of the supply base that provides the grains to our factories.
1. Our Supplier Quality Assurance Team works with our suppliers to make sure they are monitoring their crops and pretesting them to make sure they meet our rigid specifications. This team and our Quality and Food Safety Team coordinate with our Purchasing Team to make sure only Approved Vendors are used to source these ingredients.
2. Secondly, all grain ingredients that are at risk for these toxins are also tested when they arrive at our factories BEFORE they are unloaded into our storage bins. If a load is found to be out of specification, it is turned away.
3. Lastly, even though we reject ingredients that don’t meet our specifications, we still do random testing of finished products to verify that our upstream programs are working. Each factory is equipped with the necessary scientific equipment and the associates have undergone specific training to ensure that accurate testing is performed. Yes, all of this comes with a price, but the safety and well-being of the dogs and cats that consume our products every day is much more important than the time and money spent on these preventive programs.
A personal and professional note from the author
I have worked in the technical realm of pet food quality and food safety for 30 years. As a noted expert regarding the proper sampling and analytical testing of mycotoxins utilizing USDA/GIPSA sampling protocols and state of the art analytical methodologies, I have partnered with world industry experts such as Neogen and Romer. In collaboration with IBM Research, I co-authored a Journal of Food Protection article discussing the management of mycotoxin risks in pet food production.
As this issue crosses boundaries of animal health and human health, it is extremely important to stay up to date on the research and to take advantage of the data that is made available from USDA, FDA, academia, and industry partners in order to position Red Collar Pet Foods to sustain the ability to provide safe foods to our own pets and to yours.