Scientists examining the persistent menace of aflatoxins in Pakistan’s livestock feed chain are urgently calling for comprehensive control strategies to safeguard animal health, enhance productivity, and ensure food safety. Aflatoxins, toxic secondary metabolites produced chiefly by Aspergillus flavus and related fungi, have long been recognized as a serious threat in tropical and subtropical agricultural systems. In Pakistan, where livestock contributes markedly to the national economy, their unchecked presence in animal feed supplies poses a multifaceted hazard that spans from compromised animal welfare to significant public health risks and dampened export potential.
The widespread occurrence of aflatoxins in livestock feeds is closely linked to inadequate storage and handling practices prevalent across the Pakistani agricultural landscape. Suboptimal environmental conditions, such as high humidity and temperature fluctuations, potentiate fungal proliferation and subsequent toxin synthesis. This environmental susceptibility exacerbates the contamination, making aflatoxin exposure almost endemic in regions lacking stringent quality control measures or regulatory enforcement. The resultant bioaccumulation in animals not only impairs their health but also enables these toxins to enter the human food chain through products like milk, meat, and eggs, thereby amplifying human health vulnerabilities on a large scale.
A thorough literature review by researchers from CABI Pakistan draws attention to the alarming reality of aflatoxin prevalence and its grave impact on livestock production systems. While livestock agriculture in Pakistan accounted for over 60% of agricultural output and more than 14% of GDP in 2024, the sector paradoxically remains underappreciated in terms of feed quality oversight. The study collates and synthesizes data from numerous national and international investigations, documenting how aflatoxin contamination routinely exceeds internationally accepted limits in commercial feed samples. These elevated toxin levels are directly correlated with impairments in animal productivity, immune function, and overall health, underscoring a pressing need for intervention.
From a toxicological perspective, aflatoxins wield a diverse array of harmful effects that scale with exposure duration and intensity. Acute high-dose exposures can induce genotoxicity, severe hepatotoxicity, neurotoxic manifestations, carcinogenic outcomes, and reproductive dysfunction across multiple livestock species. Chronic low-dose exposures, more common in field conditions, are equally insidious, frequently manifesting as stunted growth, diminished egg and milk yields, immune suppression, and ultimately, carcinogenesis. The pathological footprint of these toxins extends further with clinical signs including jaundice, indicative of liver compromise, swollen gall bladders, as well as reproductive issues such as the birth of weaker calves. Such health detriments severely undermine the economic viability of livestock enterprises and carry downstream implications for food security.
A particularly troubling route of human exposure identified is through the consumption of milk contaminated by aflatoxin M1— a metabolic derivative of aflatoxin B1 present in animal feed. In countries like Pakistan, where informal milk supply chains dominate, regulating and monitoring toxin levels becomes an arduous challenge. Children consuming such contaminated milk are at elevated risk for growth retardation, immunodeficiencies, and hepatic damage, diseases which perpetuate cycles of malnutrition and illness in vulnerable populations. The informal nature of the dairy market complicates efforts to mitigate this exposure, pointing to an urgent need for farmer education, formalized quality assurance systems, and robust surveillance.
Field studies further substantiate these concerns. A notable example from Quetta during 2009-2010 revealed that close to 9% of broiler chickens examined post-mortem tested positive for aflatoxicosis, exhibiting severe lesions such as haemorrhagic livers, swollen kidneys, and atrophy in critical immune organs like the bursa and thymus. This high prevalence underscores the silent yet profound burden aflatoxins place on animal health in commercial settings. Moreover, in 2011 analyses of layer and broiler feeds from multiple commercial mills indicated that a significant majority of samples contained aflatoxin levels surpassing safe thresholds, highlighting widespread lapses in feed safety protocols.
Addressing this pervasive threat requires a multi-pronged approach integrating agricultural best practices, feed management, and advanced mitigation technologies. Pre-harvest interventions, grounded in Good Agricultural Practices, emphasize appropriate harvesting times and crop handling to curb fungal invasion and toxin synthesis. On the post-harvest side, proper drying, storage in moisture-controlled environments, and avoidance of mechanical damage are essential to restrain fungal growth during feed storage and transportation. Furthermore, the inclusion of mycotoxin binders and absorbents in animal rations has emerged as a practical, cost-effective strategy to reduce aflatoxin bioavailability and subsequent entry into animal-derived food products.
Vitamin supplementation presents an intriguing adjunctive measure. Vitamins A, D, E, K, and B group compounds have shown protective binding effects against aflatoxins, potentially diminishing their toxic impacts in vivo. While not a panacea, ensuring adequate micronutrient provision can augment animal resilience to aflatoxin exposure and improve overall health outcomes. However, despite these technically sound mitigation measures, their field-scale adoption remains sporadic due to entrenched challenges including limited farmer awareness, infrastructure deficits, and economic constraints within the Pakistani livestock industry.
The researchers emphasize that systematic, standardized monitoring frameworks are critical to assess aflatoxin levels reliably across regions and value chains. Without consistent and widespread surveillance data, regulatory bodies and industry stakeholders cannot tailor interventions effectively or enforce compliance with permissible aflatoxin limits. Parallel to this, educational outreach to farmers and feed producers is paramount to foster recognition of the problem and encourage uptake of mitigation techniques. Capacity building, accompanied by policy support and investment in infrastructure, could unlock significant improvements in livestock health, productivity, and by extension, public health.
Beyond animal health, the economic stakes linked to aflatoxin contamination are substantial. Pakistan’s ambitions to expand exports of dairy and meat products hinge on meeting international safety standards, which prohibit aflatoxin residues beyond strictly defined limits. Ensuring toxin-free animal feed will elevate product quality, enhance market access, and boost the country’s agribusiness competitiveness. Consequently, investments in aflatoxin management transcend health imperatives and enter the domain of national economic development and food security strategizing.
In conclusion, the evidence assembled by these scientists paints a compelling picture of aflatoxins as silent saboteurs of Pakistan’s livestock productivity and food safety. Their ubiquity in feeds and subsequent bioaccumulation represents a systemic challenge demanding coordinated attention from researchers, policymakers, farmers, and industry alike. The path forward involves embracing comprehensive feed quality surveillance, implementing good agricultural and storage practices, using innovative toxin binders, and raising awareness to overcome current limitations. Success on these fronts promises not only vibrant livestock sectors but also safer food supplies and stronger economic prospects for Pakistan’s agricultural future.
Subject of Research: Animals
Article Title: FROM FEED TO FOOD – UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF AFLATOXINS CONSUMPTION BY PAKISTANI LIVESTOCK
News Publication Date: 3-Jul-2025
Web References: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabionehealth.2025.0021
References: Abeera Umar, Syeda Qanita, Naeem Zada and Sabyan Faris Honey, ‘From feed to food – Understanding the impact of aflatoxins consumption by Pakistani livestock,’ CABI One Health (2025), 4:1. DOI: 10.1079/cabionehealth.2025.0021
Image Credits: Pixabay
Keywords: Aflatoxins, Livestock Feed, Pakistan, Food Safety, Animal Health, Mycotoxins, Aspergillus flavus, Milk Contamination, Feed Quality, Agricultural Practices, Public Health, Toxin Mitigation
