Written by John Swire
Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health has launched a new and highly effective mycotoxin binder, Notox® Ultimate Pro, to help pig producers meet the challenges of mycotoxin contamination in feed materials and in straw as effectively as possible.
This new mineral feed has exceptional binding abilities and it can also support growth during periods of challenge. It has proven binding abilities on multiple mycotoxins including those commonly found in UK produced grains.
“Most producers are aware of the potential damage of mycotoxin contamination,” says Cargill technical sales specialist Katie Stephen. “But their complex and varied structure calls for a multi-pronged approach to reducing their impact.”
Notox Ultimate Pro works through four routes; the first being its high binding capacity where in trials that compared 12 different mycotoxins binders, it performed best with a binding efficacy of 97%, well ahead of the others that ranged in efficacy from 90% to 14%, as shown in Figure 1.
“It’s second route of action is in supporting the liver function, which is the most efficient mycotoxin detoxifying agent in the body,” she says. “A challenge by the mycotoxin DON can cause immune suppression and liver damage and it is an especially difficult mycotoxin to bind. Notox Ultimate Pro mycotoxin binder has been shown to minimise liver damage during a challenge.”
It also includes specific health technologies, developed by Cargill, to support the pig’s immune system and antioxidant components to reduce cell damage caused during oxidative stress.
Mycotoxin contamination can happen before or after harvest and during grain storage. Weather conditions, grain storage and feed production practices will affect the risk of any contamination. “Mycotoxin risks in straw should also not be overlooked either,” adds Ms Stephen. “Our recent analysis work in the UK shows that levels in straw can make up significant proportions of the levels ingested.”
Cargill tests 32,000 raw materials a year for mycotoxins in Europe alone, and from January to September 2019, it found that 84% of cereal samples were contaminated with DON, and 74% were contaminated with the mycotoxin zearalenone. The company also runs the Notox control programme to give producers and nutritionists access to the current contamination situation.
“This programme accesses Cargill’s raw material analysis database, which is the largest worldwide for mycotoxin risk management, and assesses the contamination risk to pigs through straw and feed and then recommends the most suitable and cost effective inclusion level of Notox Ultimate Pro,” she adds.
“We will work closely with producers and use the control programme to flag up risks, typically recommending that a mycotoxin binder is used, even if the risk is low, to provide an insurance.”
All pigs can be affected by mycotoxin-contaminated feeds, but young and breeding animals are the most at risk. Many symptoms can occur, such as reduced feed intake, dermal lesions, tail and ear necrosis and prolapses in growing pigs and reduced farrowing rates, higher still births, small litters and swollen vulvas in sows and gilts.
“Notox Ultimate Pro is a valuable part of producers’ armoury against the harmful effects of mycotoxin contamination. Data on current risk levels, available through Cargill’s Notox control programme, means that this product can be included at accurate and effective levels.”
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