Vomitoxin (deoxynivalenol, DON) is a common fungal toxin in feed, mainly contaminating cereal raw materials such as corn and wheat. Its harm can permeate comprehensively from three core 

dimensions: animal health, production efficiency, and food safety. The specific impacts are as follows: 

1. Direct harm to animal health: Damage to multiple systems' functions 

The toxicity of vomitoxin is "broad-spectrum", attacking key physiological systems such as the digestive system, immune system, and reproductive system of animals. Moreover, different animal0s 

have varying sensitivities to it (pigs are the most sensitive, followed by poultry and ruminants). 

• Digestive System: Causes typical "vomiting" symptoms and damages the intestinal barrier

Vomiting toxins directly stimulate the mucosa of the animal's gastrointestinal tract, leading to congestion, edema, and even necrosis of the mucosa, causing severe vomiting (especially in piglets, 

which can occur within 1-2 hours after ingestion), diarrhea, loss of appetite, and other symptoms. Long-term intake will also inhibit the activity of intestinal digestive enzymes (such as amylase, 

protease) and reduce the efficiency of nutrient absorption, resulting in animals "eating a lot but growing slowly", and even causing imbalance of intestinal flora, increasing the risk of intestinal 

inflammation and constipation, etc. 

• Immune System: Weaken immunity and trigger secondary infections

It inhibits the proliferation and activity of animal immune cells (such as lymphocytes, macrophages), reduces antibody production, and causes a "total decline" in the animal's immune function.

For example, after pigs consume feed containing vomitoxin, their immune responses to vaccines for swine fever and blue ear disease weaken, and the antibody levels do not meet the standards;

poultry are prone to outbreaks of infectious diseases such as avian influenza and Newcastle disease, and the treatment difficulty significantly increases after the onset of the disease. 

• Reproductive System: Affects reproductive performance and reduces population quality

For breeding pigs and breeding poultry, vomitoxin interferes with hormone secretion (such as estrogen and progesterone), causing disorders in sow estrus, miscarriage, stillbirths or weak piglets

in sows, decreased sperm vitality and increased deformity rate in boars; for poultry, problems such as decreased egg production, thinner eggshells, and reduced fertilization rate of 

breeding eggs will occur, directly affecting the continuation of the breeding population and reproductive efficiency of the farm. 

• Other systems: Damages the liver and kidneys, causing chronic poisoning

Vomitoxin needs to be metabolized by the liver and excreted by the kidneys. Long-term intake will increase the burden on the liver and kidneys, leading to liver damage (such as liver cell necrosis,

abnormal liver function indicators) and kidney damage (such as renal tubular degeneration, renal failure). In addition, it may also affect the nervous system, causing symptoms such as 

depression of the spirit, ataxia (such as unstable standing and unsteady walking in piglets). 

II. Indirect harm to breeding production: Erosion of economic benefits 

The impact of vomitoxin on production efficiency is not "immediately apparent", but rather results in "hidden losses" through long-term accumulation. This is specifically manifested in three

aspects: 

• Growth performance declines, increasing breeding costs

Young animals (such as piglets and chicks) are the most sensitive to vomitoxin. Even if the toxin content in the feed is relatively low (for example, DON content in pig feed exceeds 0.5mg/kg), 

it can still cause a 5%-15% reduction in daily weight gain and an increase in feed-to-meat ratio of 0.1-0.3. Taking a 10,000-head pig farm as an example, if piglets suffer from toxin effects and 

their daily weight gain is reduced by 100g, the entire breeding cycle will be prolonged by 7-10 days, and the additional feed and labor costs will exceed 100,000 yuan. 

• Elimination rate increases, reducing the number of animals to be slaughtered

When animals suffer from severe poisoning, they may exhibit symptoms such as persistent vomiting, sudden weight loss, and organ failure, necessitating early elimination. For instance, 

if fattening pigs consume feed with DON content exceeding 2mg/kg, the elimination rate can rise from the normal 1%-2% to 5%-8%; for laying hens, they may be eliminated due to a continuous 

egg production rate below 60%, directly reducing the number of animals slaughtered and laid eggs in the farm, with losses potentially reaching several hundred thousand yuan. 

• Feed waste, increased resource consumption

When some farms discover that the feed is "problematic", they may choose to discard the contaminated feed or reduce the toxin concentration by "diluting the feed" (mixing the contaminated 

feed with normal feed), but this not only wastes a large amount of feed resources, but also may cause some animals to still be poisoned due to uneven dilution, thus falling into the double 

predicament of "waste + loss". 

III. Potential Hazards to Food Safety: Threat to Human Health 

Vomitoxin is "accumulative" and "persistent", and it can enter the human diet through the "feed-animal-food" chain, posing a hidden threat to human health: 

• Direct residue: Contamination of animal-derived foods

Although animals can metabolize some mycotoxins, a small amount of toxins (or their metabolites) still remain in foods such as pork, chicken, eggs, and milk. Long-term consumption of foods 

containing residues may cause symptoms similar to those in animals, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and other digestive tract discomforts. People with weakened immunity (such as 

the elderly, children, and pregnant women) may have more obvious reactions. 

• Indirect impact: Reduction in food nutritional value

Feed contaminated with vomitoxin can lead to a decrease in protein and amino acid content in animal muscles, abnormal fat deposition (such as a decrease in the proportion of unsaturated 

fatty acids in pork), and increased use of antibiotics due to animal illness, thereby increasing the risk of drug residues in food and further reducing the nutritional value and safety of the food. 

• Compliance Risk: Violation of food safety standards

The "Feed Hygiene Standard" (GB 13078-2017) of our country stipulates that the content of vomitoxin in pig compound feed should not exceed 1.0mg/kg (for piglet feed, it should be 

≤ 0.5mg/kg), and for poultry compound feed, it should be ≤ 5.0mg/kg. If the breeding farm uses feed that exceeds the standard, it will not only face penalties from the regulatory authorities, 

but also the produced animal products may be recalled and destroyed due to excessive toxin residues, thereby damaging the brand reputation.