Occurrence of Aflatoxin in the Livestock Feeds of Sikkim

162 samples of feed ingredients, 46 samples of compounded feeds and 24 samples of stored paddy straw collected from village households and livestock feed markets in different parts of Sikkim as well as from the two livestock farms of Sikkim were screened for aflatoxin contamination. 42 feed ingredients (25.93%) und 31 compounded feeds (67.39%) showed total aflatoxins content of 626±240 ppb and 881±340 ppb respectively. Among the feed ingredient samples, 37 out of 74 maize, 3 out of 10 rice bran, 1 out of 4 millet waste, 1 out of 34 mustard oil cake samples were positive for the toxin, while none of the 29 finger millet and 11 barley samples could reveal any toxin contamination. Among the compounded feeds, incidence and level of aflatoxin presence were more in poultry feeds than In cattle and swine feeds. None of the paddy straw samples showed the presence of aflatoxin.