Persistent high mycotoxin levels continue to challenge European crops

The 2024 European grain harvest again revealed a high mycotoxin level. The occurrence of mycotoxins and the concentration of toxins have been steadily increasing for a number of years. This challenges European farmers and calls for effective solutions.

A large part of the 2024 harvest has now been consumed, and at this point, it is also necessary to focus on the possible occurrence of storage toxins.

The predominant mycotoxins identified in the 2024 harvest across eastern (EE) and southern Europe (SE) are:

Type B Trichothecenes (e.g., Deoxynivalenol or DON)

Commonly known as vomitoxin, DON can lead to feed refusal and vomiting in pigs, negatively impacting weight gain and overall performance.

Fumonisins

These mycotoxins are linked to pulmonary edema in swine and can weaken immune function.

Zearalenone

This mycotoxin exhibits estrogenic properties, potentially causing reproductive disorders in pigs, including reduced conception rates and infertility.

DON is the mycotoxin in the 2024 harvest that is dominant compared to the others followed closely by Fumonisin and Zearalenone (Figure 1). You can find data from Southern Europe on the left and Eastern Europe on the right in Figure 1 below.

The incidence of mycotoxins is distributed differently across European countries, but by looking at Eastern and Southern Europe respectively, the prevalence of mycotoxins in analysed samples and the risk to have a level (ppb) above the threshold are as follows in the table below.

Table 1: Prevalence and risk for DON contamination in Eastern and Southern Europe (DSM-Firmenich)

Although there will be a moderate risk for some types of grain, it is important to remember that mycotoxins often occur in multiples and thus have a stronger negative effect. In the analysed samples, two or more mycotoxins were found in 81% of the samples in Eastern Europe and 91% of the samples in Southern Europe.

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