Ridecamp: [RC] SusanG/fumonisin toxicity

Hi Susan,

On another list, I saw a memo by Purina about fumonisin toxicity in corn,
and that Purina may be lowering the proportion of corn in their grain mixes
this year.  The memo is pasted in below my signature line.

Have you heard anything about this?  Can you give us some insight?

Happy trails -
Michelle
(Colorado)
--------
Fumonisin Toxicity in Corn

What is it?

Fumonisins are environmental toxins produced by molds and found
primarily in corn. Fumonisins are usually not a concern in corn when
the corn is grown and harvested under normal environmental / weather
conditions. However, this year's weather patterns in many parts of
the country where corn is grown have been favorable for the
production of fumonisin. Warnings have been issued by both federal
and state Departments of Agriculture concerning the level of
fumonisin in this year's corn crop.

Why is it a concern in horses?

Horses and rabbits are identified as being the most sensitive species
to fumonisins. Fumonisins destroy the brain and results in permanent
disability and / or death.

What are the current recommendations / guidelines?

The U.S. FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine has made recommendations
that corn products used in horse feeds contain less than 5 parts per
million (ppm) and that the total diet should contain less than 1 ppm.

What is Purina doing to protect animals from this potentially deadly
toxin??

Purina tests every shipment of incoming ingredients every day to
insure nutrient standards are met. With this years fumonisin problem
every shipment of corn is being tested for fumonisin. Any shipments
of corn testing at 5 ppm or over is rejected and not used in horse
feed manufacturing. Several years ago Purina designated only certain
plants to manufacture horse feed in order to better insure quality,
consistency and safety of horse feed. This allows us to adjust our
corn purchasing programs to target the purchase of corn for our horse
plants from areas of the country that have shown a reduced incidence
of fumonisin problems. In addition, the formulations of all horse
feeds have been adjusted to insure that all Purina horse feed
contains less than 1 ppm of fumonisin. Since most Purina feeds are
not fed as the total diet this provides an extra level of safety. As
for those Purina feeds that can be fed as a complete and total diet,
we have made additional adjustments to those formulations to insure
their safety. Because of these formulation adjustments you may
notice, in some Purina horse feeds, a reduction in the amount of corn
and an increase in other ingredients to offset the reduction in corn.
However, we feel that such adjustments are necessary in order to
better insure the safety of your horse from the potentially
devastating effects of fumonisin toxicity. These formulation
adjustments will not negatively impact the nutritional value of your
horse feed, and when the fumonisin levels in corn have subsided we
will gradually return to the original formulations.

We apologize for any change in appearance in your horse feed that you
may notice, but we hope you understand and appreciate the precautions
we have decided to make in order to help insure the safety of your
horse.



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