Thank you for bringing this to our attention Seaweed. For anyone who is reading this and has not heard of mycotoxins (that goes for me), here is an explanation of what they are:
"A mycotoxin is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by organisms of the fungi kingdom, commonly known as molds. The term 'mycotoxin' is usually reserved for the toxic chemical products produced by fungi that readily colonize crops. One mold species may produce many different mycotoxins, and the same mycotoxin may be produced by several species." (from
Wikipedia).
The government Food Standards Agency report on Mycotoxins in food and animal feed is
here.
I need to study the earlier links more carefully but I see that one of them is Italian. I am not sure what their standards are regarding manufacture and storage of pet food. I wonder if the results may be different if the research was repeated elsewhere. Both articles cite grain as being the cause of the fungus so opting for a grain free product when using extruded food seems a sensible option if one is worried about it.
There are many risk factors in life and this is perhaps one of those but there are millions of dogs who have extruded food and are quite healthy. It seems that whatever we feed our dogs there is a risk of one sort or another. Even home made food is said to be problematical if we do not get the balance right. Personally, I feel that we can quite easily fret about this sort of thing and it can spoil the enjoyment of our pets if we let it. However, for those who feed dry food but who would wish to minimize exposure to mycotoxins in their pet's diet, the guidelines in one of the articles seems very straightforward and easy to follow:
* Opt for a pet food that is free of cereal grains.
* If you must feed a commercial food containing cereal grains, call the manufacturer and ask them what steps they take to avoid mycotoxin exposure.
* Also ask the pet food company whether they routinely test for mycotoxin contamination.
* Rotate your kibble with a high-quality canned food or a home-prepared meal a couple of times a week.