Blog: Tackling antimicrobial resistance: the benefits of clay blends as antibiotic-free mycotoxin binders for safer animal feed
It's encouraging to note that the government has announced a new 5-year national action plan on antimicrobial resistance to protect people and animals from the risk of drug-resistant infections.
The UN antimicrobial report ‘Bracing for Superbugs’ states: “AMR challenges are closely linked to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and waste, all of which are driven by human activity, including unsustainable consumption and production patterns.” The report emphasises that the health of people, animals, plants, and the environment are closely linked and interdependent, and therefore, a ‘one health’ response is the approach needed to tackle it.
The wellbeing of animals and livestock, and our own health, relies greatly on safe, nutritious feed, whilst reducing antibiotic use in agriculture helps curb antibiotic resistance in food-producing animals. Top of FormWe’re pleased to share that our extensive research and development into creating soil and primary clay blends have shown potential as antibiotic-free, animal feed mycotoxin binders. This natural material helps bind mycotoxins to adsorb their toxicity.
Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins created by certain moulds (fungi) and can be found in food. The moulds can develop during the growth, harvesting, drying or storage of fruits, seeds, grains, and by-products that are widely used in food and feed preparations. They can cause a serious health risk to both humans and livestock.
Considerable scientific efforts have been focused on investigating and developing strategies to prevent the formation of mycotoxins, and to eliminate, inactivate, or decrease their bioavailability in feeds.
Implementing good agricultural practices (GAPs) both before and after harvesting is widely considered the best way to control fungal contamination and the production of mycotoxins. However, these measures alone may not entirely prevent mycotoxin formation in field and storage conditions. This means that detoxification processes, including biological, chemical, and physical methods, are often required to remove, destroy, or reduce toxic effects, while ensuring that no toxic residues or carcinogens remain in the food and feed material. Clay is a widely used additive for this purpose, aiding the removal of mycotoxins.
The tests we carried out were to investigate the toxin adsorption potential of untreated clay in its raw virgin state. The common mycotoxins Aflatoxin, Ochratoxin, Zearalenone, Vomitoxin, Fumonisin and T-2 Mycotoxin were tested. Of those, Aflatoxin is almost entirely adsorbed by the clay. This is particularly important as Aflatoxin is one of the most potent carcinogens known and is found in wheat, rice, sweetcorn, sunflower, peanuts, and many other products.
We’ll be sharing more on this research soon. Meanwhile, please get in touch with us if you’d like more details about the clay mineral product formulations we have available as an antibiotic-free, animal feed mycotoxin binder.
To learn more about our expertise in creating soil and primary clay blends that provide industry professionals across multiple sectors with the opportunity to develop product formulations, please visit https://www.minore.co.uk/speciality-minerals