Aflatoxins are a mycotoxin produced by fungi commonly found on crops. The main fungi that produces aflatoxin according to the National Cancer Institute are Aspergillus Flavus and Aspergillus Parasiticus. This substance is commonly found in a variety of foods including cereals (such as corn and wheat), oilseeds (such as peanuts and soybeans), spices like black pepper and ginger, nuts such as almonds and coconuts, as well as yam and some milk products.

Often known as an infection of Aspergillus ear rot when infecting corn, the fungus that produces aflatoxin is most common during hot, dry conditions, especially if the weather is right during silking. According to the Crop Protection Network, damaged and stressed plants are also far more susceptible to infection than their healthier counterparts. Typically, the mold will show as an olive-green on kernels often around the tip of the ear, or in damaged areas.

Aflatoxin in food substance can cause a variety of negative and extremely dangerous health concerns. According to the National Library of Medicine’s stored document on Aflatoxin Toxicity, too much exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and acute convulsions in humans. Chronic exposure can cause  hepatotoxicity (liver damage), immunotoxicity (adverse effects with your immune system), teratogenicity (birth defects), and hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer). In a different article from the National Library of Medicine, it is even suggested that certain types of aflatoxin can potentially affect the brain and nervous system.

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual,  animals eating aflatoxin-contaminated feed can experience lowered production, weakness, anorexia, reduced growth and feed efficiency, and, occasionally, sudden deaths. Animals eating feed affected by twice the tolerable levels stated in Merck Veterinary’s article can experience symptoms such as vomiting, depression, hemorrhaging (internal bleeding), and icterus (jaundice). In some cases, death of the animal will occur after a short period of inappetence (loss of appetite).

The FDA maintains a chart on acceptable levels of aflatoxin contamination, as extremely small amounts are unavoidable in many cases. The chart can be found on their Guidance for Industry: Action Levels for Poisonous or Deleterious Substances in Human Food and Animal Feed article, or in the image to the right. The numbers for aflatoxin are generally measured in ppb, or parts per billion.

While it can be difficult to prevent some aflatoxin issues when weather is favorable to the fungal infection, there are some things that can be done to help prevent the fungus, or lower the total amount of aflatoxin. the University of Georgia Extension suggests that Aspergillus ear rot contamination problems can be reduce with proper management tasks such as grain cleaning, proper combine adjustments, proper drying, and sound storage practices. Working to prevent as much damage as possible to the crops while harvesting can also help prevent the mold from being spread further across the lot. They also suggest making sure to properly sanitize all harvesting, handling, drying, and storage equipment and machines before a harvest. Making sure things are cleaned and properly maintenance can help prevent the infection of crops while being stored. Take a look at their article for more specifics on practices that will help avoid further aflatoxin contamination.

According to Using Atoxigenics to Manage Aflatoxin, another potential way to reduce aflatoxin numbers, is to utilize atoxigenic (not toxic) strains of the mold that causes aflatoxin.

Essentially, the atoxigenic strains while they still infect the corn, do not produce aflatoxin, and can help prevent aflatoxin producing strains from growing on the corn. While this can help reduce the amount of aflatoxin in crops, it does in some cases increase the amount of Aspergillus ear rot on the crop. It is also important to note that this strategy is not particularly useful if Aspergillus ear rot and aflatoxin issues are rare in the geographical area, or if used when conditions are not favorable to the fungi’s growth to begin with.

For more information on how your crop insurance interacts with aflatoxin, contact your Silveus Insurance agent.

Take a look at the Fusarium Risk Tool designed to help estimate Fusarium risk levels created by Ohio State University, PennState Center for Environmental Informatics, K-State Research and Extension, and the U.S. Wheat and Barely Scab Initiative!