Survey of Aspergillus section Flavi and aflatoxin B1 in brewer's grain used as pig feedstuff in Cordoba, Argentina

Brewing industry by-products are important animal feedstuff alternatives for local swine producers in Cordoba, Argentina. The high content of nutrients makes these by-products vulnerable to bacterial and fungal contamination. The objectives of the present study were (1) to determine the presence of Aspergillus section Flavi in brewer's grain used to feed pigs and (2) to evaluate the incidence of aflatoxin B-1 in the substrate. Total fungal count of most samples exceeded the levels proposed as feed quality limits, and most Aspergillus section Flavi strains found were able to produce high amounts of AFB(1) in vitro. However, the incidence of AFB1 was low. The presence of contamination by aflatoxicogenic species in feedstuff might affect the productivity of swine producers and indirectly represents a public health issue.