Prevalence of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A in Imported Pet Food

Pets particularly cat and dog are referred as companion animal due to strong relationship with human. Pet food is a plant or animal material intended for consumption by pets. The leading exporters of pet food are France, USA and Netherland while the leading importers are Japan, Germany and UK in the world. Pakistan is a recent importer on the list and is importing small quantities of pet food mainly cat and dog food. Feeds are blended from various raw materials and additives. These blends are formulated according to the specific requirements of the target animals. Pet food comprising carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, organic acids, vitamins and minerals make an ideal substrate for fungal growth resulting into mycotoxins production. Data regarding scenario of mycotoxins contamination in pet food in Pakistan is missing. In view of foregoing, present study was planned to assess the prevalence of mycotoxins in cat and dog imported food. For this a total of five hundred and ten (n=510) commercially available pet (i.e. cat and dog) food samples were collected from various cities of country. The samples were then analyzed for AFS and OTA by high performance thin layer chromatography. The findings of present study revealed that 180 samples (54.54%) of cat food were contaminated for AFB₁ with a mean of 7.25 ppb (range 0.1-9.0 ppb). Thirty (9.09%) samples were found positive for AFB₂ and none of these tainted with AFG₁ and AFG₂. Moreover, incidence of OTA in cat food was detected in ninety (27.27%) samples with mean of 8.56ppb (range 3-16ppb). Forty-five (25.01%) dog food samples were contaminated with a mean of 4.95ppb (range 1.50-12 ppb). However, no dog food sample was found positive for AFB₂, AFG₁ and AFG₂. A 16.66 % (n=30) dog food sample showed the presence of OTA ranging from 0.5 to 20ppb (mean 5.65ppb). As far as the co-contamination is concerned, sixty (18.18%) cat food and fifteen (8.33%) dog food samples were concurrently tainted with AFS and OTA. Although, mean levels of AFS and OTA in pet food were found below the regulatory limits as defined by European Union (EC, 2006) i.e. 20ppb and 10ppb respectively. However, co-occurrence of mycotoxins even at safe levels in pet food is proven to have adverse health effects.

Key Words: Aflatoxin, Ochratoxin, pet food