Following the success of the first edition of BIOMIN's Mycotoxin Academy concept in India in July, the company, together with itssupply chain partners, extended its success streak to four more locations in India.
A total of over 500 customers and poultry players participated in these academies, which facilitated knowledge transfer between BIOMIN experts and customers. The events were also testimony to the commitment by the company in creating awareness about mycotoxin risk in India and providing innovative solutions to the problem.
Following the first leg of Mycotoxin Academies in north India in July, the second leg of these signature events started in Hyderabad. OnAugust 14, the event was held at Radisson Hitec City, followed by another event in Coimbatore, held in Le Meridien on August 16. At the Coimbatore Mycotoxin Academy, Dr. A. Natarajan, professor and head of the Animal Feed Analytical and Quality Assurance Laboratory (Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal), participated as a guest speaker and offered invaluable insights to participants.
The final leg of the Mycotoxin Academies began in Pune on August 29 at Hotel Conrad, followed by another event at Hotel Swissotel in Kolkata on August 30.
In his introductory speech, Edward Manchester, regional director of BIOMIN Asia Pacific, highlighted the company's values and explained that mycotoxin risk management and gut health management are the two pillars of BIOMIN's business.
"R&D is the cornerstone for BIOMIN and we are the first and only company with an EU authorisation for three ingredients in the group of feed additives for mycotoxin deactivation," he added.
Participating in all the Mycotoxin Academies as lead speaker, Eileen Han, regional product manager of mycotoxin risk anagement, BIOMIN Asia-Pacific, explained the risks and impact of mycotoxins in poultry with data from BIOMIN's Mycotoxin Survey Report.
"When it comes to counteracting mycotoxins, the poultry industry tends to think of 'toxin binders' first. However, clay mineral binders are not an effective answer to all major mycotoxins," said Han, adding that a combination of different strategies like biotransformation and bioprotection can better counteract the negative effects of mycotoxins in poultry.
It was noted that the key to the effectiveness of BIOMIN's Mycofix® product line is its three-pronged strategy of mycotoxin control, namely: biotransformation, adsorption and bioprotection.
In his presentation on "Feed testing and Necropsy", Gangga Widyanugraha, BIOMIN's regional technical sales manager (poultry) highlighted the prevalence of mycotoxin in poultry in India. He also quoted various instances of mycotoxin risks that he had found from extensive postmortem analyses of birds conducted across India.
In his presentation on the digital media initiatives being done by BIOMIN in India, digital marketing executive Keerthivasan Chandrasekar pointed out that staying connected with the official social media handles of the company on Facebook and Twitter will be of immense benefit to the farmers.
He also explained the use of Mycofix® App and the access of key findings in BIOMIN's Mycotoxin Survey and articles from Science & Solutions.
BIOMIN has conducted the Mycotoxin Survey Program annually since 2004. The accumulated number of samples is now over 75,000, which makes the programme the largest global data pool for mycotoxin analyses.
On the success of Mycotoxin Academies in India, Sujit Kulkarni, managing director of BIOMIN India, commented that the company has now reached all key locations in India as it creates awareness about mycotoxin risk management.
"It is a proud moment for all of us and I would like to thank the entire BIOMIN team for their support and commitment in making this concept a great success," he said, adding that BIOMIN will continue to do such innovative programmes.
The Mycotoxin Academies were a cobranding initiative by BIOMIN, which was supported by its supply chain partners, Tara Group, Sri Amman Enterprises, Ayugen and SM Marketing.
