Occurrence of Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone in Commercial Fish Feed : an Initial Study

The control of mycotoxins is a global challenge not only in human consumptionbut also in nutrition of farm animals including aquatic species. Fusarium toxins, such asdeoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), are common contaminants of animal feedbut no study reported the occurrence of both mycotoxins in fish feed so far. Here, we reportfor the first time the occurrence of DON and ZEN in samples of commercial fish feeddesigned for nutrition of cyprinids collected from central Europe. A maximal DONconcentration of 825 μg kg−1 feed was found in one feed whereas average values of289 μg kg−1 feed were noted. ZEN was the more prevalent mycotoxin but theconcentrations were lower showing an average level of 67.9 μg kg−1 feed.