The Impact of Feed Management Technologies on Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons (MOH) Contamination: A Comparative Farm Level Approach

Mădălina Matei, Silvia Ioana Petrescu, Bianca Maria Mădescu, Dragoș Mihai Lăpușneanu, Daniel Simeanu, Paul Corneliu Boișteanu and Ioan Mircea Pop ()
Additional contact information
Mădălina Matei: Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Silvia Ioana Petrescu: Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Bianca Maria Mădescu: Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Dragoș Mihai Lăpușneanu: Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Daniel Simeanu: Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Paul Corneliu Boișteanu: Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Ioan Mircea Pop: Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Legislative frameworks about contamination are often limited to foods and underestimate the role of animal nutrition for safe production. This study aims to assess mineral oil hydrocarbon (MOH) contamination in feed and identify the technological factors that are contributing to this issue, particularly focused on mechanised harvesting and processing. Three dairy farms, classified by contamination risk (low, medium, and high), were selected, and fifteen feed samples were analysed using the coupled liquid chromatography–gas chromatography–flame ionisation detection (LC–GC–FID) method, with a microwave-assisted saponification (MAS) step to determine mineral oil saturated (MOSH) and aromatic (MOAH) hydrocarbon levels. Important contamination levels were observed depending on the technological development of each farm. MOSH levels ranged from 11.4 mg/kg to 81.40 mg/kg, while MOAH levels ranged from 0.5 mg/kg to 4.6 mg/kg. MOAH accounted for 4.74% of the total MOH content. The results showed a connection between feed production technologies and MOH contamination levels. Factors such as the mechanisation, the machinery used, and the storage conditions were potentially contributors to contamination, while chemical treatments had no direct impact but some potential risks. The contamination levels varied across farms, indicating certain contamination sources beyond technological factors. Advanced technological measures and proper equipment maintenance are suggested to mitigate MOH contamination risks in feed.

Keywords: animal feed; contamination; food safety; toxicity; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2008/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2008/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:11:p:2008-:d:1516830

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().