Aflatoxins Heavy Metals And Safety Issues In Dairy Feeds Milk And Water In Some Selected Areas Of Ethiopia

The production of wholesome milk is controlled by the quality and safety of feed supply.rnAflatoxins and heavy metals are some of the major factors that affect the quality of feeds andrnwater sources that are transferred and eventually get bio-accumulated in livestock species andrnhumans via meat, milk and milk products. Monitoring dairy production inputs using technicalrntools and gathering appropriate information on perception, experience and indigenousrnknowledge of stake holders along the feed and milk chains are relevant in assessing howrnprocessing, storage and distribution of feeds and water sources to ensure safety of milk and milkrnproducts. The objective of this study was to determine aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in feeds and aflatoxinrnM1 (AFM1) in milk and heavy metals cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and chromium (Cr)rnin feeds, water, and milk samples from West Shoa, East Shoa and Hawassa, Ethiopia. A total ofrn205 samples consisting of 115 concentrate feeds, 45 roughage feeds and 45milk samples wererncollected for the detection and quantification of aflatoxin using Enzyme-linked ImmunosorbentrnAssay (ELISA). A total of 90 samples (30 feeds, 30 water and 30 milk) were collected forrndetermination of heavy metals using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometerrn(GFAAS). Stakeholders’ perception and experience of handling feeds and water sources werernevaluated by interviewing peri-urban farmers, feed processors, feed retailers and urban dairyrnproducers using semi-structured questionnaires and field observations. The results showed halfrnof the feed samples (81) were free from aflatoxin, and the remaining (79 samples) were withinrnthe EU standard of 5μg/kg and the USA standard of 20μg/kg. The pattern of afltoxinrncontamination showed that concentrate feeds were more contaminated (7.67 ± 0.80 μg/kg) thanrnroughage feeds (0.41 ± 0.14 μg/kg); hay (0.72 ± 0.25 μg/kg) was more contaminated than strawrn(0.05 ± 0.05 μg/kg) and oilseed cake based concentrate feeds were more contaminated (13.09 ±rn1.12 μg/kg) than concentrate feeds without oilseed cake (2.78 ± 0.66 μg/kg). The average AFB1rnof feeds in Bishoftu (9.76μg/kg) was significantly higher (p Pb > Cd. The water samples taken from Mojo areas (Eastern Shoa) showed the highest ofrnheavy metals (43.64 μg/L - 86.89 μg/L) with very high concentration of Cr (300.56 μg/L). Inrngeneral, the average concentration of heavy metals in livestock water in Eastern shoa (Akaki tornMojo) (28.08 ± 7.02 μg/L) was significantly higher (p As > Pb > Cd. With the exception of pH of water fromrnMojo Lake (10.37) and Gelan dye factory (8.9), the rest of the water samples collected fromrnBishoftu and Holetta areas were within the legal pH limit of 6.5-8.5 for livestock drinking. Thernoverall concentration of heavy metals in cow milk samples was in the order of Cr > Cd > Pb >rnAs. The concentrations of Cd and As in milk were within the permissible limits. However, 60%rnand 73% of the milk samples from Holetta and Bishoftu respectively for Pb and, all the milkrnsamples in both study locations for Cr were above the permissible limits indicating poor qualityrnof milk due to environmental pollution. The data from the interview of stakeholders showed thatrn91% of the farmers sometimes encountered mold formation in roughage feeds due to lack ofrngood harvesting and stacking practices. Most of the farmers admitted to feeding light moldyrnfeeds to their livestock by diluting with uncontaminated ones. Most of the respondents (67%)rnused extreme moldy feeds for firewood; and 33% of the interviewees damped the extreme moldyrnfeeds into landfills. Farmers recognized two causes of water contaminants associated with healthrnand production problems in livestock. Accordingly farmers from Eastern Shoa (100%) werernaware of the effect of industrial effluent as the most important hazard for dairy production;rnwhereas 66% of the farmers from Eastern Shoa and 34% of the respondents from Western shoarnidentified leech problems in water bodies in dry season. Farmers also had indigenous knowledgernto tackle the leech problem in that 69% of the farmers used bucket for selectively scooping waterrn3rnfrom the water body to exclude the leech from being consumed by animals; whereas 50% of thernrespondents treated animals with chopped tobacco and onion. The majority of the feedrnprocessors (64%), feed retailers (82%) and dairy producers (56%) reported that they did not usernpalate for placing their concentrate feeds implying that there is probability of moldrncontamination in times of prolonged storage. Among the respondents, 88% of feed processors,rnall feed retailers and most (96%) of the dairy producers recognized that wheat bran was thernmost mold susceptible feed ingredient. Majority of the feed processors (67%), feed retailersrn(73%) and dairy producers (58%) stored their concentrate feeds for a short period of about 1rnmonth. Majority of the feed processors (74%), feed retailers (87%) and most dairy producersrn(91%) did not encounter mold formation in their concentrate feed because of the small amount ofrnconcentrate feed they hold and shorter storage time. To overcome mold formation in concentraternfeeds, 64% of the feed processors gave enough space between stored feed and the wall. Furtherrnresearch needs to be undertaken along the feed and milk production and distribution chainsrnusing other techniques such as HPLC, GC and multi-mycotoxin assay using LC-MS-MS takingrninto account different storage conditions such as use of palate, ventilation, and duration of feedrnstorage on aflatoxin. The effect of mold growth in feeds on nutrient composition needs to berninvestigated. There is also a need for further investigation on heavy metals from soils and fodderrnfeed samples grown in similar study locations.

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