Alltech facility sampled 965 commercial pet feeds including by-products and protein sources and found that - 98% were contaminated with more than one mycotoxin. - 93% contained more than two. - 39% contained more than five. The most commonly contaminated ingredients include; rice bran, corn, wheat, rice, nuts, legumes, which you may recognize from your ferret's food label. Any ingredient grown in a field is at risk of mycotoxin growth. But processing kills it, right? Aflatoxins are incredibly stable, and are not destroyed via the heating and processing that kibble endures. It remains fairly intact. After the Consumer Council of Hong Kong found Aflatoxin B1 in Purina, Hill's, and Avoderm pet foods, Purina came out with a statement claiming mycotoxins are an "unavoidable natural contaminant." Avoderm did elect to remove corn from their recipes to help with mycotoxin load. According to this study, 42 samples of veterinary diets (like Purina, Hill's, Royal Canin) were examined and only 9.5% of the samples were free from mycotoxins. The rest contained two Fusarium species. Fusarium are pathogens that produce a large number of harmful mycotoxins. The study did conclude that none of the foods exceeded allowable levels granted by the European Commission for pet food, but "It means that a long-term intake of medium or high doses of mycotoxins in pet foods may entail adverse health effects, because these compounds are accumulated in animals' tissues." While the amounts in the foods examined may be insignificant, no one can say for sure the levels would be safe in prolonged feeding. According to another study done by De Souza and Scussel, when dogs were fed food contaminated naturally with mycotoxins, they developed liver and kidney problems and dysfunction of other major organs. I think it's important to note here that one of the leading causes of death in dogs is kidney disease. Chronic renal failure is also considered a common cause of death in cats. It's an "unavoidable natural contaminant" I find this statement eyeopening. Obviously, mycotoxin load can be diminished greatly when using quality protein sources (animal product) over inexpensive grains. To me, it sounds quite clear Purina is trying to justify using plant proteins and grains to substitute beneficial animal product and organ meat. For example, when dissecting Ziwipeak air-dried food, we see that it's absolutely possible to create a grain-free food with quality meat and a low mycotoxin load. When compared to Purina (Healthy Kitten) ingredients.... We can see how Purina would be at higher risk for mycotoxin contamination. Corn gluten meal, rice flour, soybean meal, whole grain corn, soy protein concentrate, etc. The damage done The earliest case of mycotoxin damage in pets occurred in 1974 in India where hundreds of dogs perished after consuming contaminated corn. Another widespread case happened in 1998 where 55 more dogs died. In 2005, over 100 more dogs were killed. (ref) Just 0.5mg to 1mg of aflatoxins/kg body weight can kill a dog within days. Even smaller amounts for a ferret. (ref) How to avoid mycotoxin poisoning If you're still keen on kibble, shoot for freeze-dried or air-dried raw first. These will be less likely to contain mycotoxins unless grains or other crops are included in the food (which it shouldn't) I have a chart for dry foods for ferrets here. If you can't feed those, aim for the kibble I have at the top of the kibble section. These are grain free, and will be your best bet. The best way to avoid mycotoxins is to feed a balanced raw diet. Which you can learn to feed here. Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6352256/ https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Occurrence-of-Dogs-and-Cats-Diseases-Records-in-the-Souza-Scussel/07ea2035435eae9acb342d9dd5d92abb11299ce5 https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Aflatoxin-B1 https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/corn-and-your-dog-secrets-food-companies-dont-want-you-to-know- https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/cancer-causing-aflatoxins-found-in-dog-foods/ https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?pId=11343&catId=34559&id=5124262 https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?pId=11343&catId=34559&id=5124262
1 Comment
Libby
5/16/2020 06:10:50 am
Well that's...terrifying, so say the least.
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