31 March 2017
Dr. John Gilbert, FoodLife International Ltd (Turkey)

feeding studies piglets

With a €500,000 of funding secured from the Ministry of Science & Technology in China, partners from MyToolBox participating in a BIOMIN supported Conference in Beijing used the opportunity to initiate discussions on one of two planned animal feeding studies. The study with piglets will evaluate a commercial EU mycotoxin detoxification additive, alongside one produced in China, following EFSA guidelines for efficacy. Drs. Nagl and Schaumberger from BIOMIN visited a farm some 1.5 hr drive from Beijing where the study is proposed to be conducted under the direction of Dr. Jinquan Wang from from the CASS Feed Research Institute. The farm owner and his wife were very welcoming and pleased to show their modern well-organised farm housing typically 130 sows, which appears to be ideal for the planned study which will be carried out over a 42 day period. Much needs to be worked out concerning the control of the exposure of the piglets to fumonisins in the feed during the study, as well as ensuring that the analytical work on serum is conducted to the highest possible standard. This visit was the first step in what hopefully will be a fruitful EU-China collaboration within the MyToolBox project.