Journal
TOXINS
Volume 12, Issue 4, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/toxins12040233
Keywords
Fish feeds; Regulations; AFB(1); Fumonisin; Uganda
Categories
Funding
- BecA-ILRI Hub through the Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) program
- Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through the BecA-CSIRO partnership
- Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA)
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
- UK Department for International Development (DFID)
- Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
- Aquatic Innovations-Lab project
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The emergence of commercial fish farming has stimulated the establishment of fish feed factories in Uganda. However, no information is available on the safety of the feed, mainly due to lack of mycotoxin testing facilities and weak regulatory systems. A study was carried out to examine fungal colonization and mycotoxin contamination in fish feed samples (n = 147) of different types collected from nine fish farms (n = 81) and seven fish feed factories (n = 66) in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB). Fungi were isolated in potato dextrose agar, grouped into morphotypes and representative isolates from each morphotype were identified based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA sequences. Aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)) and total fumonisin (combinations of B-1, B-2 and B-3; hereinafter named fumonisin) levels in feed samples were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A wide range of fungi, including toxigenic Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium verticillioides, were isolated from the fish feed samples. AFB(1) was detected in 48% of the factory samples and in 63% of the farm samples, with toxin levels 400 mu g/kg, respectively. Similarly, 31% of the factory samples and 29% of the farm samples had fumonisin contamination ranging between 0.1 and 4.06 mg/kg. Pellets and powder had higher mycotoxin contamination compared to other commercially available fish feed types. This study shows AFB(1) as a potential fish feed safety issue in the LVB and suggests a need for more research on mycotoxin residues in fish fillets.
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