Determination of Aflatoxin Levels of Feeds Used in Dairy Cow Farms and Their Effects on Blood Parameters and Milk Aflatoxin Levels in Hatay Province

In the study, AFB1 and total aflatoxin levels of roughages and concentrates from twenty dairy farms in Hatay, AFB1 carry over rate (CO) from feed to milk as AFM1 and correlation between total aflatoxin intake and blood parameters were investigated. In none of the roughage samples, AFB1 levels was over 5 ppb while the concentrates of 9 farms were found to be above 5 ppb legal limit. The average AFB1 levels of concentrates and roughages, and the average AFB1 intake were 4.496 ppb, 1.282 ppb and, 15.987 μg/day, respectively. A total of one hundred milk samples were collected by taking five dairy cows from each farm. The two of milk samples were found to be exceeded the level of 0.05 ppb of the AFM1 level that is the statutory limit in Turkey. The average AFM1 level of the farms was 0.0214 ppb and none exceeded the legal limit. The average CO rate of farms was found to be 2.66%. The correlation coefficients were not significant between total aflatoxins intake and blood parameters. As a result, the AFM1 excretion in milk was related to AFB1 intake and milk yield. In dairy cows, a daily intake of AFB1 37.3 μg at maximum level should not be exceeded to stay in the statutory limit for AFM1 in milk.