المملكة: “Food and Drug” puts an end to fungal toxins and heavy minerals in the feed

The Food and Drug General Authority offered the draft “technical regulations for pollutants in feed” via a “reconnaissance” platform, calling on all specialists and interested to express their views, with the aim of organizing the maximum boundaries of chemical and microbial pollutants and fungal toxins in animal fodder, as a pivotal element in food security.
The new regulations in particular target pollutants that negatively affect the safety of animal feed, whether they are caused by pollution during cultivation, manufacturing, transportation or storage.
These pollutants include multiple categories such as fungal toxins, heavy minerals, hynaud, meal, and dioxins, all of which are scientifically proven to represent a direct danger to animal health, and their effects may be transmitted to humans through animal products.

Wild toxins … a hidden threat

The fungal toxins “Mycotoxins” is one of the most dangerous pollutants in the feed, and it is a secondary products for the growth of fungi in wet and appropriate environments, and although they are natural compounds, their danger lies in its direct and severe impact on the liver, kidneys and the nervous system of animals, as well as its role in low immunity and productivity, and thus the risk of moving through meat, milk and eggs to the consumer Human.

Types of toxins

The list set the maximum limits of several types of these toxins, the most prominent of which are “flavatoxin” and the maximum allowed in the compound feed for animal animals is 0.005 mg/kg, my father’s oxeni Valnol «don) in the compound feed for calves and lambs should not exceed 2 mg/kg, Minister of Zeaarnone in the compound feed Sore at 0.5 mg/kg.
The list banned the mixing of contaminated feed in rates exceeding the maximum with other feeds with the aim of mitigating, while allowing the use of certain toxins or additions such as ammonia within the standards of the body.

Maximum

Heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium are an environmental and healthy anxiety, as they may leak into feed through soil, water or during manufacturing operations.
The regulations set precise rates of the maximum limits of these minerals according to the type and source of feed, the most prominent of which was “arsenic,” which was limited to the maximum in complex feed at 2 mg/kg, and “cadmium”, and the maximum ranges between 0.5 mg/kg in complex feed and 2 mg/kg in some raw material Complex feed, with exceptions for some ingredients such as phosphate, and “mercury”, and the permitted limit in complex feed is 0.1 mg/kg.
The importance of these borders is highlighted in protecting the animal from chronic poisoning and the cumulative effects, as it prevents the transmission of toxic minerals to humans through animal meat and milk.

Boiled chemical compounds

The regulation included an accurate organization of the presence of cyanide, a highly toxic chemical compound that is produced naturally by some bacteria, fungi and algae, and the authority identified a maximum of 10 mg/kg in the compound feed for poultry, with higher proportions of plant components such as flaxseed.
As for melamine, it is a compound that contains a high percentage of nitrogen and is used in the industry, and caused international controversy after discovering it in contaminated feed and food that led to poisoning. The Saudi regulation included a maximum of 2.5 mg/kg, with codified exceptions in the event of melamine due to unintended factors, such as migration from packing materials or the use of certain feed additives.

Fixed and deadly organic pollutants

The draft regulation referred to the danger of dioxins, a group of clumsy organic compounds that are one of the fixed organic pollutants, and often produces incomplete combustion or industrial processes, and because of their high toxicity and its ability to vital accumulation, the authority stressed the need to subject feed to accurate tests to detect the existence of these materials.

Strict controls for sampling methods

Among the most prominent things included in the regulations is its affirmation of the importance of samples in a scientific and approved way to ensure the accuracy of the analysis results and the integrity of the evaluation, and the application of standard specifications at all stages, starting from collecting the sample until its analysis.
It is expected that the new regulations will contribute to raising the quality of the locally produced feed and imported, in a way that enhances the Kingdom’s ability to compete in global markets, and that adherence to these requirements will reduce the rates of mortality and disease in livestock, and improve animal production indicators such as growth and generation.
In terms of health, the reduction in the levels of pollution in the feed is reflected directly on the integrity of animal products, which is in the interest of the final consumer, and enhances the confidence of the public in the quality of national products.