Evaluation of the effect of mycotoxin binders in animal feed on the analytical performance of standardised methods for the determination of mycotoxins in feed

The last few years have brought a vast amount of information about mycotoxin inactivation agents (mycotoxin binders) which are applied with the aim to reduce the toxic effects of mycotoxins in animals. The influence of the addition of mycotoxin binders to animal feed on the analytical performance of the methods for the determination of mycotoxins was studied and the results are presented in this report. Standardised methods already available or currently under consideration at the European Standardization Committee (CEN) have been applied for the analysis of mycotoxins in feed materials. Samples of 20 commercial mycotoxin inactivation agents were collected from various companies. The following mycotoxins were included in the study: aflatoxin B1, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, fumonisins B1 + B2, T2 and HT2 toxins. Naturally contaminated or spiked feed materials and the maximum recommended amounts of the mycotoxin detoxifying agents were used in the experiments. A binder (or binders combined in a group) was mixed with feed material containing the corresponding mycotoxin, and the feed material with and without binder was analysed using the appropriate method. For data evaluation, the obtained mean values were compared by Student's t-test (independent two-sample t-test with unequal sample sizes and equal variance). The repeatability standard deviation of each method based on collaborative trial data was used as an estimate of method variability. No significant differences (p = 0.05) in mycotoxin levels between binder free material and the material containing different binders have been found under the applied conditions.