Innovative Fumonisin Deactivation Expands to Extruded Feeds

Mycotoxins, including fumonisins, are becoming more of a concern for the aqua industry as use of plant-based protein sources in diet formulations increases. Fumonisins can negatively affect performance unless they are adequately managed. The rigorous processing conditions used in the manufacture of aqua feeds means that applying enzyme products is not possible. A revolutionary new water-soluble, highly concentrated, purified enzyme that can be applied post-extrusion allows for the effective management of fumonisins in aqua feeds. 

Fumonisins (FUM) are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium fungi. They mainly affect corn (maize) and corn by-products but can also be found on other commodities. 

The Global BIOMIN Mycotoxin Survey 2019 indicates that fumonisins occur in 88% of all corn samples analyzed globally (Figure 1). On average, a contamination level of 2733 ppb (µg/kg) and maximum levels of more than 150,000 ppb (µg/kg) were found. Global warming and the occurrence of extreme weather phenomena are playing a role in the rise of fumonisins, creating a more comfortable environment for the spread of Fusarium fungi. International trade of grain is then distributing fumonisins all around the globe. 

Fumonisins and mycotoxins in general are becoming a concern for the aqua industry, due to the higher inclusion level of plant protein sources in diet formulations. Fumonisins show a high prevalence in finished feeds, confirming that these mycotoxins are quite stable and resistant to feed processing methods. 

Table 1. Disease associations of fumonisins by species 

Fumonisins in general are hepatotoxic but they are also known to impair the barrier function of the gastrointestinal tract by disrupting gut integrity. 

A leaky gut leads to higher absorption of undesired particles such as mycotoxins, but also a higher passage rate of pathogens, such as E. coli and Salmonella (Vandenbroucke et al., 2011; Pinton et al., 2009). In shrimp, a very low contamination of fumonisins (200-600 ppb) significantly impaired the muscle structure which consequently led to reduced storage stability of shrimp meat (Garcia-Morales et al., 2015). In tilapia (Claudino-Silva et al., 2017), weight gain of fingerlings was significantly reduced due to fumonisins in the feed. In seabream, 2000 ppb of fumonisin reduced body weight and increased feed conversion rate. 

The revolutionary product FUMzyme® sol is the first water soluble, highly concentrated, purified enzyme that can be sprayed onto extruded feed after heat treatment. FUMzyme® sol is available as a powder in practical, resealable 50 g, 100 g and 250 g aluminium bags. The contents of the 50 g bag can be directly used to treat 10 tons of feed. Depending on the amount to be treated and the level of contamination, 5 g of FUMzyme® sol is measured and added to a minimum of 100 ml of tap water, mixed for 2 minutes and then sprayed on to 1 ton of feed. 

The amount of FUMzyme® sol used per ton of feed can vary between 5 and 15 g depending on the fumonisin contamination level. The amount of water can be increased according to the requirements of the spraying device/post-pellet liquid application system. Where emulsifiers are used, FUMzyme® sol can also be mixed with oil for specific applications. 

FUMzyme® sol has been tested for its fumonisin degrading capacity in different set-ups. Its efficacy was not only confirmed in post-pelleting applications but also its efficiency in chlorinated water up to 5 ppm and interaction with different phytases was successfully tested. FUMzyme® sol​​​​​​​ does not affect the efficacy of different commercially available phytases, nor is FUMzyme® sol​​​​​​​ activity affected when mixed and sprayed at the same time as different phytases. 

FUMzyme® has been extensively tested in pigs and poultry and results are available on request. 

In seabream, 5g FUMzyme® sol/ton of feed treatment was tested. Feed was contaminated with 2,000 ppb of fumonisin B₁. After 60 days of trial, final bodyweight and consequently feed conversion rate were negatively impacted by the low contamination (2,000 ppb) of fumonisin B₁ (Figure 5). Figure 3 also shows the positive impact that 5 g FUMzyme® sol/ton of feed had to counteract this.