Despite being discovered over 50 years ago, mycotoxins remain a relevant theme in farming and feed production today. These secondary metabolites produced by certain moulds have detrimental effects on an animal’s health and performance. This is an area of feed production that needs constant management due to the negative effects of mycotoxins occurring at low and high concentrations of consumption. The heat of this recent summer has made mycotoxin management much more eminent.

As we have enjoyed the hot summer, so have mycotoxins.

In this extreme heat it is not only crop harvest and quality that have been affected but also mycotoxin production by moulds. Moulds have shown to produce increased levels of mycotoxins during heat stress thus only increasing the need for constant and stringent management.

To manage the threat of mycotoxins we here at E.F.S. have developed our very own product that combines the binding activity of clay minerals with the deactivation capacity of enzymes. Tox-Aid® provides a natural defence against mycotoxins and we consider it a staple product for any feed. The best approach is that of prevention, not cure.

In the aim of constant improvement, we have recently conducted trials measuring Tox-Aid®’s heat stability and deactivation capacity. Both trials yielded favourable results showing Tox-Aid®’s enzymatic activity unhindered through average temperatures used in a general production process. In comparing Tox-Aid® and its deactivating capacity against three other, renowned mycotoxin deactivators/binders on DON and ZEA in pigs and poultry, Tox-Aid® gave significantly better results than its competitors. Tox-Aid® is a highly effective product and extremely competitive within its price bracket.