Incidences of aflatoxin contaminations in ingredients, feed and products of poultry from two regions in Ghana

Abstract

Commercial poultry feed required for proper growth of birds and egg production contains essential nutrients with maize as key component. Inadequately dried maize is prone to aflatoxin contamination and therefore when used in feed formulation for poultry may compromise the safety of the feeds and poultry products. This study investigated the levels of aflatoxins in feed ingredients, feed and poultry products sampled from Eastern and Greater -Accra regions of Ghana. The aflatoxin levels of B1, B2, G1, and G2 were determined using a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) methodology. Main feed ingredients used were fishmeal, cotton seed cake, soya meal, rice, wheat and maize bran as well as maize grains. There was correlation between the level of aflatoxins and moisture content in poultry feed ingredients. All the poultry feeds (100 %) analysed showed the presence of aflatoxins with total aflatoxins recorded ranging from 5.32 to 29.88 μg/kg. Maize samples of the poultry feeds, from all two regions, revealed maize to be a major contributor to the overall total aflatoxin contents found in the feed. Five (5) out of ten (10) communities investigated in the two (2) regions where the poultry feeds were examined recorded total aflatoxin levels in maize above the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) specification of 20 μg/kg. Aflatoxins G1 and G2 were not detected in all samples of chicken meat and eggs. Total aflatoxin levels recorded for all chicken meat and eggs were below GSA specification of 5 μg/kg; implying that these products were safe for consumption.