The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a positive Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of FUMzyme for the application in poultry feed.
“This marks a major step in achieving an additional EU authorization for FUMzyme. For the poultry industry, it means a new, innovative tool for mycotoxin risk management proven to deactivate fumonisins safely and effectively,” said Ursula Hofstetter, Director Competence Center Mycotoxins at Biomin.
EFSA acknowledged the efficacy of FUMzyme in safely degrading fumonisins to non-toxic compounds in the gastrointestinal tract of poultry, as demonstrated in numerous feeding trials, stating “FUMzyme has the capacity to degrade fumonisins in feed, at concentrations below the Guidance limits operating in the EU in chickens and turkeys for fattening and laying hens at the minimum recommended dose of 15 U/kg complete feed.”
Recent Biomin Mycotoxin Survey results of 3,065 samples taken in the first half of 2016 indicate that fumonisins were detected in 80% of maize, 27% of wheat, 66% of finished feed and 40% of soybean meal samples.
“We know that fumonisins impair the health and performance of poultry,” said Hofstetter. Recent research revealed that the ingestion of fumonisins at levels below the EU recommended value (20 parts per million) can affect the expression of proteins related to pro- and anti-inflammatory responses in the intestinal tract of broilers.
Levels of 20 ppm of fumonisins induce a higher excretion of Eimeria, the parasites responsible for coccidiosis. “In large-scale farms, this may promote parasite transmission between birds due to the high density of the animals,” she explained.
