title: Occurrence, prevention and remediation of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in silage: a review.
abstract: Ruminants are considered to be less sensitive towards mycotoxins than monogastric animals because rumen microbiota have mycotoxin-detoxifying capacities. Therefore the effect of mycotoxins towards ruminants has been studied to a lesser extent compared with monogastric animals. Worldwide, a high proportion of the ruminant diet consists of silages made of forage crops (i.e. all parts of the crop above the stubble are harvested). In practice, silages are often contaminated with multiple mycotoxins. Exposure to a cocktail of mycotoxins can hamper animal production and have severe health consequences. In this article the different aspects associated with mycotoxin contamination of silage are reviewed 'from seed to feed'. An overview is given on the occurrence of toxigenic fungal species and their concomitant mycotoxins in forage crops before and after ensiling. The mycotoxin load of visually non-mouldy samples and mouldy hot spots within the same silo is also compared. Subsequently, this review delves into different problem-solving strategies. A logical first step is prevention of mould growth and mycotoxin production in the field, during harvest and during ensiling. If prevention should fail, several remediation strategies are available. These are listed, mainly focusing on the possibilities of microbial degradation of mycotoxins in vivo in silage. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biosciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, V. Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9943-5172
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wambacq
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biosciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, V. Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vanhoutte
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biosciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, V. Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kris
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Audenaert
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biosciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, V. Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Leen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Gelder
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biosciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, V. Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Haesaert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification*; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000737:chemistry*; D012820:Silage / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D009183:Mycotoxins
keywords: fungi; microbial degradation; mycotoxins; prevention; remediation; silage