Evaluation of the Occurrence of Multi-Mycotoxins in the Diet of Beef Cattle Feedlots in Brazil

Contamination by multi-mycotoxins in cattle feed can lead to increased susceptibility to diseases and loss of performance. The present study aimed to investigate the occurrence of multiple mycotoxins present in the diet of beef cattle feedlots in Brazil. Chromatographic analyses were performed on 152 TMR samples from seven states, representing the diet provided to 1,246,522 animals. Contamination by mycotoxins was found in 100% of the TMR samples analyzed, with the most frequent being fumonisins, present in 100% of the samples, followed by zearalenone, which contaminated 79.6% of the samples, and subsequently by aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, and T-2, while HT-2 was not detected in any of the samples. Furthermore, 2.6% of samples showed co-occurrence of five different types of mycotoxins, 23.7% presented four mycotoxins, 41.4% three mycotoxins, 22.4% two mycotoxins, and 9.9% of the samples showed contamination by only one mycotoxin. The significant prevalence of mycotoxins of the Fusarium and Aspergillus genera in the samples of the present study indicates a notable degree of pre- and post-harvest contamination in these beef cattle diets. Further studies are needed to define methods for monitoring cattle exposure to clarify its effects, even at low levels, and reduce the impacts on beef cattle production in Brazil.