SPECIAL STORY FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE August 2023 47 “As a high-value aquaculture species, shrimp have traditionally required highprotein diets based on fishmeal sourced. However, the high prices of limited fishmeal supplies were restricting the growth of shrimp farming, and research has focused on developing alternative plant, animal and single-cell protein sources. Among these alternatives, plant protein sources have increasingly been used in commercial shrimp feed diets to substitute fishmeal. The high inclusion of plantbased ingredients has also increased the risk of introducing mycotoxins into the final feeds, leading to feed safety concerns in the aquaculture industry.” Pacific white or whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) was the top aquatic species produced in 2020, reaching 5.8 million tonnes and accounting for approximately 12% of total aquaculture production (FAO, 2022). Shrimp is cultured via intensive operations in East and Southeast Asia and Latin America to supply mainly the high-income markets in North America, Europe and Japan. As a high-value aquaculture species, shrimp have traditionally required high-protein diets based on fishmeal sourced from wild-caught, low-trophic fish species. However, the high prices of limited fishmeal supplies were restricting the growth of shrimp farming, and research has focused on developing alternative plant, animal and single-cell protein sources (Chen et al., 2023). Among these alternatives, in the past two decades, plant protein sources have increasingly been used in commercial shrimp feed diets to substitute fishmeal. Many plant substitutes in shrimp feeds are meals, including soybean meal, cottonseed meal, rapeseed meal, peanut meal and sunflower meal. Others are cereals, including wheat, corn, barley, and their byproducts: corn gluten and wheat bran, and distillers’ dried grain with solubles (DDGS). MYCOTOXIN IDENTIFICATION IN SHRIMP FEED INGREDIENTS The plant-based ingredients in aquafeed (including shrimp) recipes are associated with several nutritional limitations (e.g., amino acid deficiencies, poor palatability, low digestibility, and the presence of anti-nutritional factors). The high inclusion of plant-based ingredients has also increased the risk of introducing mycotoxins into the final feeds, leading to feed safety concerns in the aquaculture industry. Under favorable temperatures and humidity levels, fungi produce mycotoxins on crops before harvest in the fields or after harvest due to poor storage conditions of ingredients and final feeds. The occurrence of mycotoxins in raw materials and aquafeed ASSESSING THE RISK: THE MYCOTOXIN PRESENCE IN SHRIMP FEED IN 2023 Vivi Koletsi, Ph.D. Global Aqua Technical Support Alltech Mycotoxin Management
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