CARRY-OVER OF FUMONISIN B-1 INTO THE MILK OF LACTATING COWS

Fumonisins are toxic and carcinogenic metabolites of a couple of Fusar ium and Gibberella species from the section Liseola. The most abundant host is corn; the toxin predominantly formed is fumonisin B-1. Fumoni sins account for species-specific fatal diseases in farm animals and a re suspected of being causative for esophageal cancer in man. From the milk-hygiene point of view, it has to be confirmed to what extent a c arry-over from feedstuffs into milk takes place.In the trials reported in this article, three Holstein-Friesian cows with a normal milk yiel d (24 +/- 5 kg/d) were intravenously dosed with 30 mg of fumonisin B-1 and the excretion with the milk and plasma levels were determined on the basis of a simultaneously developed ELISA capable of detecting as little as 200 ng FB1/kg milk and plasma. The limit of determination wa s clearly better than 1 mu g/kg for milk. Traces of FB1 could be found in the milk of 2 animals up to 4 h after injection (milking every 2 h ) and up to 8 h in one cow. The concentrations in plasma persisted for 8 h in 2 cows and 4 h in 1 animal. The carry-over rate reaches a maxi mum of 0.11 % and the peak concentration is taken as a basis for the c alculation. On average, the carry-over rate reaches 0.05 % and is 10-f old lower when calculated for the single milking episodes. The results confirm the statement that the carry-over of FBI into milk is negligi ble from the point of view of consumer protection.