Mycotoxins in soybean feedstuffs used in Germany

Fifty samples of soybean meal-25 of them samples of high-protein soybean meal-and one sample of soybean hulls obtained from the feed industry in Germany were analysed for the mycotoxins aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZON) and ochratoxin A (OTA). Additionally, 4 samples of high protein soybean meal which were suspected of containing high mycotoxin levels were analysed. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was detected in 32 of the 51 non-suspicious samples but the maximal concentration was only 0.41 μg/kg. DON could not be detected in any of the non-suspicious samples. ZON was detected in 23 of the 51 samples with a maximal concentration of 18 μg/kg. It was present in 18 of 25 samples of soybean meal and in the sample of soybean hulls but only in 4 of 25 samples of highprotein soybean meal. This finding suggests that ZON is mainly located in the hulls of soybeans, because high-protein meal does not contain hulls. OTA was found in 4 samples, with the greatest concentration detected being 1 μg/kg.All of the four suspicious samples of high protein soybean meal contained high ZON concentrations of up to 363 μg/kg. The contamination with other mycotoxins was on the same order of magnitude as in the case of the non-suspicious samples.