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Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A residues in supplementary foods used for wild birds

Lawson, B; Robinson, R; Parmar, M; Killick, R; Cunningham, A; Macdonald, S; (2020) Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A residues in supplementary foods used for wild birds. Science of the Total Environment , 731 , Article 138851. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138851. Green open access

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Abstract

Provision of supplementary food for garden birds is practiced on a large scale in multiple countries. While this resource has benefits for wild bird populations, concern has been expressed regarding the potential for contamination of foodstuffs by mycotoxins, and the implications this might have for wildlife health. We investigated whether aflatoxin (AF) and ochratoxin A (OA) residues are present in foodstuffs sold for wild bird consumption at point of sale in Great Britain using high pressure liquid chromatography analyses. The hypothesis that production of these mycotoxins occurs in British climatic conditions, or under storage conditions after the point of sale, was tested under experimental conditions but was not proved by our study. While the majority of peanut samples were negative for AF residues, 10% (10/98) of samples at point of sale and 11% (13/119) of those across the storage and climate exposure treatment replicates contained AFB1 that exceeded the maximum permitted limit of 20 μg/kg. No significant difference was found in the detection of either mycotoxin between branded and non-branded products. The clinical significance, if any, of exposure of wild birds to mycotoxins requires further investigation. Nevertheless, the precautionary principle should be adopted and best practice steps to reduce the likelihood of wild bird exposure to mycotoxins are recommended.

Type: Article
Title: Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A residues in supplementary foods used for wild birds
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138851
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138851
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10095430
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