Investigation of the microclimate of poultry houses and chemical composition of poultry litter, depending on the time of its accumulation in the cage batteries

One of the main reasons of the destabilization of the ecological environment around poultry farms is the widespread use of resource-consuming and environmentally irrational production processes and technological preparation, processing and disposal of poultry waste. Nowadays, cage batteries with a belt removal system are becoming more widespread in the poultry farming. However, the use of such equipment does not guarantee compliance with applicable veterinary and sanitary requirements for the content of harmful gases in the air of the poultry houses and its microbial contamination. This, in turn, has a negative impact on the state of the environment. In addition, the equipment designed for countries with a milder climate than in Ukraine does not support the designed regimes of its individual systems. Therefore, the study of the effect of the accumulation of the litter on the belts of the cage batteries on its humidity, chemical composition and microclimate in the poultry house, from the environmental point of view, remains an urgent problem. On the basis of complex studies, the kinetics of the drying of the litter on the belt conveyors of the cage batteries for keeping laying hens with built-in air ducts and without air ducts in different seasons, as well as the effect of the duration of the accumulation of the litter on the microclimate in the poultry house, microbial contamination and chemical composition of the litter have been studied. The study of the microclimate in the poultry house, depending on the time of accumulation of the litter on the conveyor belts, showed that with the increase in the time of accumulation of excrements in the air, the content of ammonia increased, and after 5 days of accumulation in the cold season its level began to exceed the maximum contamination level (MCL)-15 mg per m3 of the air. The amount of ammonia on the 7th day of the litter accumulation in all poultry houses was 1.8-2.8 times greater (P 0.001) compared to the first day. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air increased by 1.14-2.00 times, but it never exceeded the MCL - 0.25%. When studying the both types of cage batteries, 1.2-2.6 times the maximum contamination level of the air (220 thous. microbic units per m3) was established in the poultry houses. In the case of cage batteries without built-in ducts from the 1st to the 7th day of accumulation, microbial air contamination increased by 1.9 times in the cold season, and by 1.7 times - in the warm season; and on the 7th day it was 579 and 462 thous. microbic units per m3, respectively. When using the cage batteries with built-in ducts, microbial air contamination increased slightly: by 1.7 times in the cold season and 1.4 times in the warm season and on the 7th day it was 535 and 580 thous. units per m3, respectively.

STUDIES ON RADON CONCENTRATION IN UNDERGROUND WATER OF IDAH, NIGERIA

Studies on ground water samples from selected boreholes and wells in Idah were carried out to determine the concentration of radon (222Rn) using the Liquid Scintillation Counter (LSC). The average concentration of radon obtained was 14.09±1.10 BqL-1 for boreholes and 13.45±1.00 BqL-1 for well waters. The overall average concentration of 13.77±1.05 BqL-1 was recorded. The results obtained in this work were compared with the maximum contamination level (MCL) of 11.1 BqL-1 set by USEPA and the world average value of 10.0 BqL-1 for drinking water and it was observed that 80% of the samples exceeded these values. The average annual effective dose by ingestion of 0.051mSvy-1 was recorded for boreholes and 0.049mSvy-1 for well water samples. All values of effective dose were below the ICRP recommended intervention level of 3-10mSvy-1.

Presence of deoxynivalenol in wheat milling products in Serbia during 2016-2017

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of several mycotoxins produced by certain Fusarium species that frequently infect wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley and other grains in the field or during storage. DON affects animal and human health causing vomiting, acute temporary nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness and fever. The objective of this study was to evaluate the natural occurrence of deoxynivalenol (DON) in white wheat flour, whole wheat flour and wheat bran. In this study, a total of 75 white wheat flour, whole wheat flour and wheat bran samples were collected in the period of 2016-2017. All samples were analyzed for DON by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay. DON was detected in 23 out of 45 white wheat flour samples (51.11%), at levels ranging from 99 ?g/kg to 440 ?g/kg. Out of 15 whole wheat flour samples, 14 were contaminated by DON (93.33%), at levels ranging from 98 ?g/kg to 479 ?g/kg. The maximum contamination level of DON (2,790 ?g/kg) in this study was found in wheat bran. Presence of DON was detected in all 15 samples of wheat bran (100%). These results suggest a high percentage of contaminated samples, especially among wheat bran samples, which raises a risk for consumers of wheat bran and the need to monitor final products before consumption.

Occurrence of Four Fusarium Mycotoxins, Deoxynivalenol, Zearalenone, T-2 Toxin, and HT-2 Toxin, in Wheat, Barley, and Japanese Retail Food

A survey of the contamination of wheat, barley, and Japanese retail food by four Fusarium mycotoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2 toxin (T-2), and HT-2 toxin (HT-2), was performed between 2010 and 2012. A method for the simultaneous determination of the four mycotoxins by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was validated by a small-scale interlaboratory study using two spiked wheat samples (DON was spiked at 20 and 100 μg/kg and ZEN, T-2, and HT-2 at 6 and 20 μg/kg in the respective samples). The recovery of the four mycotoxins ranged from 77.3 to 107.2%. A total of 557 samples of 10 different commodities were analyzed over 3 years by this validated method. Both T-2 and HT-2 were detected in wheat, wheat flour, barley, Job's tears products, beer, corn grits, azuki beans, soybeans, and rice with mixed grains. Only T-2 toxin was detected in sesame seeds. The highest concentrations of T-2 toxin (48.4 μg/kg) and HT-2 toxin (85.0 μg/kg) were present in azuki beans and wheat, respectively. DON was frequently detected in wheat, wheat flour, beer, and corn grits. The contamination level of wheat was below the provisional standard in Japan (1,100 μg/kg). The maximum contamination level of DON was present in a sample of a Job's tears product (1,093 μg/kg). ZEN was frequently detected in Job's tears products, corn grits, azuki beans, rice with mixed grains, and sesame seeds. A sample of a Job's tears product presented the highest ZEN contamination (153 μg/kg). These results indicate that continuous monitoring by multiple laboratories is effective and necessary due to the percentage of positive samples detected.

Human exposure to fumonisins from home grown maize in Tanzania

Fumonisins contaminate maize worldwide resulting in unacceptable fumonisin exposures in people relying on maize as staple food. This study determined fumonisins B1 (FB1) and B2 (FB2) in maize from 120 rural households: 30 from each of four main maize producing regions of Tabora, Ruvuma, Iringa and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in order to estimate total fumonisin (FB1 + FB2) exposures to adult individuals in the households. The average daily per capita maize consumption of 771 g, recommended by the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC) for an adult relying on it as a main meal, and also average daily per capita maize consumptions of 129, 308 and 356 g documented for Tanzania, were used in the exposure estimation. The fumonisins were determined by HPLC using fluorescence detection. Total fumonisins exposure (µg/kg body weight (bw)/day) was determined by multiplying average daily per capita maize consumption (kg) by fumonisin level in maize (µg/kg) from a given household and then dividing by an average bw of an adult of 60 kg. Of the 120 samples, 52% were contaminated with fumonisins at levels of up to 11,048 µg/kg (median; 363 µg/kg). Based on the recommended maize consumption of 771 g/person/day, fumonisin exposures to adult individuals in 38% of the households would exceed the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) of 2 µg/kg bw, recommended by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. At the least documented maize consumption of 129 g/person/day, fumonisin exposures in 16% of the households were still above the PMTDI. Reduction of the maize consumption level to 40 g/person/day is an impractical, and reduction of the maximum contamination level to 155 µg/kg is a possibly practical, option for effective minimisation of fumonisin exposures in these communities. A relatively larger study is needed in order to generate comprehensive data for the formulation of appropriate strategies to minimise fumonisin exposures in Tanzania.