From acute toxicity to animal-health protection

Historically, mycotoxin guidance often centered on concentrations associated with clear toxic effects. The updated EU framework is more explicitly grounded in adverse animal-health outcomes, including changes in feed intake, growth and other chronic responses.

For DON, for example, EFSA identified reduced feed intake and reduced body-weight gain as critical chronic adverse effects across farm and companion animals. More recent assessments subsequently lowered the reference points for horses, broiler chickens and turkeys. For fumonisins, newer evaluations similarly lowered reference points for poultry and horses.

This is important because production losses linked to mycotoxins may occur before classical clinical disease becomes obvious. Reduced intake, impaired gut function, poorer feed conversion and altered immune competence can all create meaningful economic losses even when mortality is absent.

Which mycotoxins are covered?

The recommendation covers five major mycotoxin groups:

• Deoxynivalenol (DON)
• Zearalenone (ZEA)
• Ochratoxin A (OTA)
• T-2 and HT-2 toxins
• Fumonisins B1 + B2

The Annex sets guidance values for both feed materials and complete feeds, with differentiated thresholds according to species and production category. The listed materials include cereals, maize, soybean products, oilseeds, silages, forage products and other commonly used feed ingredients.

Key poultry guidance values

For poultry, several of the new complete-feed values deserve particular attention.

All values are expressed relative to feed containing 12% moisture. The full Annex contains additional values for feed materials and other animal species.

Co-occurrence becomes part of routine monitoring

One of the clearest changes in the recommendation is its explicit focus on simultaneous analysis of multiple mycotoxins.

Member States are recommended to ensure, together with feed business operators, that samples are simultaneously analysed for DON, ZEA, OTA, T-2/HT-2 and fumonisins so that the extent of co-occurrence can be assessed.

This is highly relevant in modern feed production because a single cereal batch may contain several Fusarium-derived toxins at the same time. Evaluating only one analyte can therefore underestimate the true biological challenge faced by the flock.

What happens when a guidance value is exceeded?

Exceeding one of the guidance values does not automatically make feed illegal. The recommendation is not equivalent to a maximum permitted level under binding contaminants legislation.

However, the Commission recommends that feed exceeding a guidance value should only be marketed or used when precautionary measures aimed at protecting animal health are implemented. If complete feed, complementary feed or a feed material intended for direct feeding exceeds the relevant value, a risk assessment should be carried out and appropriate mitigation measures considered.

The recommendation also emphasizes transparency along the supply chain. Suppliers should provide sufficient information on mycotoxin concentrations to compound-feed manufacturers, particularly where sensitive animal categories are involved.

Mycotoxin values move into HACCP systems

Perhaps one of the most operationally important parts of the new recommendation is its explicit link to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

Feed business operators are recommended to use the guidance values to determine critical limits at critical control points established for the prevention, elimination or reduction of mycotoxin hazards. :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

For feed mills, this could mean integrating toxin concentrations more systematically into:

• Raw-material purchasing specifications
• Supplier approval programs
• Sampling plans
• Ingredient segregation
• Formulation decisions
• Storage management
• Corrective-action protocols

Why poultry producers should pay attention to sub-clinical exposure

Poultry have historically been considered more tolerant than pigs to several Fusarium toxins, but tolerance does not mean that exposure is biologically irrelevant.

Low or moderate exposure can still influence:

• Feed intake and body-weight gain
• Gut epithelial integrity
• Feed conversion
• Immune function
• Response to enteric challenge
• Kidney and liver function, depending on the toxin
• Egg and production quality in laying birds

The regulatory rationale itself reflects this newer understanding: the Commission states that recent EFSA opinions provided updated reference points for adverse animal-health effects and specifically notes lower reference points for DON in broilers and turkeys and fumonisins in poultry. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}

Mitigation in a multi-toxin environment

The increasing recognition of co-occurrence also has implications for mitigation. Different mycotoxins have different chemical structures, meaning that no single intervention performs equally against every toxin.

A modern risk-management program may therefore combine several tools:

• Multi-toxin analytical monitoring to identify actual contamination patterns.
• Raw-material selection and segregation according to species sensitivity.
• Adsorbent strategies where adsorption is effective for the toxin of concern.
• Biotransformation technologies designed for specific mycotoxin structures.
• Storage and moisture control to prevent additional fungal development.
• Gut-health and nutritional support where exposure may compromise intestinal resilience.
• Reformulation or dilution where technically and legally appropriate.

Climate variability adds another layer of risk

The Commission notes substantial regional and year-to-year variation in mycotoxin occurrence when establishing guidance values for feed materials. This variability is increasingly important for feed businesses sourcing cereals and oilseeds across Europe and internationally. :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}

Weather conditions before harvest, crop stress, moisture, temperature and post-harvest storage can all influence fungal growth and toxin production. As a result, historical supplier performance alone may not reliably predict the risk associated with the next harvest.

Feed companies are therefore likely to place greater emphasis on seasonal surveillance, geographic risk mapping and rapid analytical data when purchasing commodities.

Implementation timeline

The Commission has provided businesses with a transition period before the new guidance values are taken into consideration.

• 1 July 2027: the new guidance values apply to most feed materials and compound feeds.
• 1 October 2027: the guidance values apply to maize, sorghum, soybean, sunflower and their products.

From 1 July 2027, Recommendation 2026/1801 will replace Recommendations 2006/576/EC and 2013/165/EU. :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}

What feed mills and poultry integrators can do now

Although implementation begins in 2027, the operational changes required may take considerably longer to establish. Businesses can use the transition period to strengthen their feed-safety systems.

Practical priorities include:

• Compare existing internal specifications with the new EU guidance values.
• Review sampling plans and laboratory detection limits.
• Expand routine analysis to include all five toxin groups where appropriate.
• Map recurring contamination by ingredient, supplier, origin and crop year.
• Revise supplier contracts and communication requirements.
• Define clear action thresholds before values are exceeded.
• Reassess mitigation programs for poultry-specific sensitivity.
• Integrate mycotoxin risk explicitly into HACCP review procedures.

A broader shift in feed-safety management

The 2026 recommendation represents more than a technical revision of numerical values. It signals a broader evolution in how Europe expects mycotoxin risk to be managed.

The new framework combines species-specific guidance, simultaneous toxin monitoring, HACCP integration, supplier transparency, risk assessment and precautionary action. Together, these elements move mycotoxin management toward a more proactive model centered on animal health rather than laboratory compliance alone. :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}

For poultry producers, where small differences in feed intake and feed conversion can have major economic consequences across large flocks, that shift is particularly important.

Sources and references

• European Commission. Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/1801 of 24 July 2026 on the presence of deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, T-2 and HT-2 toxins and fumonisins in feed.
• European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Scientific opinions and assessments on DON, fumonisins, zearalenone, ochratoxin A and T-2/HT-2 toxins in animal feed.
• CSQA. Mycotoxins in animal feed: EU updates reference values. August 2026.
• Scientific literature on mycotoxin effects, co-contamination and mitigation strategies in poultry production.