Aflatoxin B1: the only binding feed standard

For aflatoxin, there is no guidance value but a statutory maximum level. And the risk is shifting northwards.

In brief

Aflatoxin B1 is the only mycotoxin with a binding European feed standard.
For dairy cattle, 0.005 mg/kg applies, for feed materials 0.02 mg/kg and for other compound feed 0.01 mg/kg.
In Northern Europe, 3% of the samples were positive for aflatoxin, compared to 34% in Southern Europe.
The ROSA tests measure aflatoxin from 5 µg/kg, which aligns with the European sorting standard for maize.

Aflatoxin is the exception in feed law: it is not listed in a recommendation but in Annex I to Directive 2002/32/EC. The reason lies in its toxicology. Aflatoxin B1 is a genotoxic carcinogen for which no safe threshold can be established. The European legislator therefore opted for a binding maximum level instead of a guidance value.

The values in feed

Aflatoxin B1 in feed (mg/kg)
Application	Maximum level
Feed materials	0,02
Complementary and complete feed, general	0,01
Dairy cattle and calves, dairy sheep and lambs, dairy goats and goat kids, piglets, young poultry	0,005
Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry other than the above categories	0,02

The value of 0.005 mg/kg for dairy cattle is the strictest feed standard in the entire list, because aflatoxin M1 is carried over into milk.

The risk is shifting

Aflatoxin was long considered a problem associated with imports from warm climates. Survey figures show a different picture: in the first half of 2026, 3% of samples from Northern Europe were positive, compared with 34% in Southern Europe. Drought and heat during the growing season, followed by humid conditions at harvest, are the well-known triggers. A year such as 2024, with aflatoxin issues in maize from the Balkans, demonstrates that the risk does not stop at the external border.

Foodstuffs: two types of levels

For foodstuffs, 2.0 µg/kg aflatoxin B1 and 4.0 µg/kg total apply to cereals and cereal products. Maize and rice subjected to sorting or other physical treatment prior to use may contain 5.0 and 10.0 µg/kg respectively, provided they are not intended for the final consumer and the consignment complies with the final maximum level after treatment.

Measuring in a clustered matrix

Aflatoxin is characteristically heterogeneously distributed. A few mouldy kernels can push a consignment above the limit, while the average appears low. The ROSA AFQ tests measure aflatoxin from 5 µg/kg, with a range of 5 to 30 µg/kg in the first dilution and 20 to 100 µg/kg in the second; the WET variants extend up to 300 µg/kg. The FAST variant provides results in three minutes in maize, the WET variants in five minutes using water as the extraction solvent.

The conclusion is the same as for other toxins, but with greater emphasis: the analysis is rarely the problem. A consignment evaluated using a single grab sample from a lorry is assigned a figure that says nothing about the 30 tonnes behind it. For aflatoxin, this is not a theoretical risk, but the most common reason a rejection fails to hold up.

Sources

<a href="/en/kennisbank">Go to the knowledge base</a>

<a href="/en/normen">Go to the limits</a>