How You Can Adapt A Comprehensive Strategy Of Mycotoxin Analysis For Your Animal Feed – Alltech MIKO

The contamination of animal feed with growing variations of moulds is leading to the rise of cases of mycotoxin poisoning in livestock. This is of grave concern for livestock farmers due to the subsequent impact on animal health and performance. There is a need for many farmers, producers and feed mills to implement better mycotoxin analysis programs at the feed level to curb this issue from the start. However, a greater part of the contamination is already predominant amongst the animals and there is a need for recovery methods to help reverse the issue quickly. As such, the strategy here should be all-inclusive from the very beginning of the feed cycle to carry on preventative measures whilst also being proactive with recovery and future monitoring to stop the progress of the contamination.

The Alltech mycotoxin management program is dedicated to working towards mycotoxin detection and control in animal feed processing. The Alltech MIKO program is a comprehensive analysis and control programme that can be applied to cross species utilisation. This incredible program has been developed after years of results oriented research. Here is a look at some of the concepts of the program and tips for livestock farmers on how to adapt the points of the strategy for checking the growth of mycotoxin threats in animal feed.

Alltech MIKO

At farm level, the Alltech MIKO steps start at the storage units where Alltech technicians test for mould growths and the condition of the unit. The exposure to rain or humidity delivery patterns are checked to understand the possibility of mould growth in the future. The feed mills are tested at the equipment level to understand the growth of mould during the processing of the feed. A strategy for better maintenance of equipment and storage areas is drawn up and put in to action. Diverse tools like technically engineered binding components are used with the view of restoring and reversing any harmful contamination that might have already spread among the feed as well as the animals.

Tips on adapting the Alltech MIKO strategies

• Start by calling in expert professional help from Alltech to start the hazard analysis program.
• Create critical checkpoints during your feed processes to check for any signs of mould growth at regular intervals.
• Always ensure upper limits of mould growth are enforced so that only high quality feed passes through the inspection.
• Ensure that particular restorative and corrective measures are planned and implemented to reverse the current infection situation with the animals.
• Always check for infection in the animals at regular intervals because some strains of mycotoxins might lie undetected in the feed and a regular check of the animals will reveal infections at the primary level.
• Always have a critical information recording procedure in place to ensure that your monitored data is catalogued for reference throughout your team. Often critical information might remain unnoticed due to simple miscommunication amongst team members.
• Finally, to enforce a hazard analysis program as diverse as this, you will need an enthused and motivated team. Always encourage individual team members to feel responsible towards the success of the program to ensure better success in adaptation.