Food and feed contamination by emerging mycotoxins beauvericin and enniatins is a worldwide health problem and a matter of great concern nowadays, and data on their toxicological behavior are still scarce. As ingestion is the major route of exposure to mycotoxins in food and feed, the gastrointestinal tract represents the first barrier encountered by these natural contaminants and the first structure that could be affected by their potential detrimental effects. In order to perform a complete and reliable toxicological evaluation, this fundamental site cannot be disregarded. Several in vitro intestinal models able to recreate the different traits of the intestinal environment have been applied to investigate the various aspects related to the intestinal toxicity of emerging mycotoxins. This review aims to depict an overall and comprehensive representation of the in vitro intestinal effects of beauvericin and enniatins in humans from a species-specific perspective. Moreover, information on the occurrence in food and feed and notions on the regulatory aspects will be provided.

To reduce the (over) population of unwanted companion non human animals, namely dogs and cats. They are used to lower negative impacts on human societies and on the animals themselves, and opting for the neutering status is usually considered a demonstration of “responsible ownership.” In Western countries, however, such provisions are not uniform and must increasingly be balanced with the recognition of animals as sentient beings with interests under the law. Furthermore, there is no consensus on whether routine neutering benefits both human and nonhuman parties, and the veterinary profession progressively claims the need for case-by-case management. Such premises make deciding how to manage companion animals’ reproductive lives legally challenging. The current work examines the European legal framework for companion animal protection and animal legal status after providing a brief overview of the global problem of overpopulation. Subsequently, the author discusses the main legal approaches to controlling companion animal reproduction, in European countries. Remarks about the legally binding option and on alternative approaches are provided, while highlighting the persistent need for appropriate and coherent European legislation.

Zootoxins are produced by venomous and poisonous species and are an important cause of poisoning in companion animals and livestock in Europe. Little information about the incidence of zootoxin poisoning is available in Europe, with only a few case reports and review papers being published. This review presents the most important zootoxins produced by European venomous and poisonous animal species responsible for poisoning episodes in companion animals and livestock. The main zootoxin-producing animal species, components of the toxins/venoms and their clinical effects are presented. The most common zootoxicoses involve terrestrial zootoxins excreted by the common toad, the fire salamander, the pine processionary caterpillar, and vipers. The lack of a centralized reporting/poison control system in Europe makes the evaluation of the epidemiology of zootoxin-induced poisonings extremely difficult. Even if there are many anecdotal reports in the veterinary community about the exposure of domestic animals to terrestrial and marine zootoxins, the number of published papers regarding these toxicoses is low. Climate change and its consequences regarding species distribution and human-mediated transportation are responsible for the emerging nature of some intoxications in which zootoxins are involved. Although new venomous or poisonous animal species have emerged in regions where they were previously unreported, zootoxins produced by native species remain the main concern in Europe. The diversity of poisonous and venomous animal species and the emerging nature of certain poisonings warrant the continuous update to such knowledge by veterinary professionals and animal owners. This review offers an overview about zootoxin-related poisonings in domestic animals in Europe and also provides important information from a health perspective.

This study investigates the immunomodulatory effects of Enniatin B1 (ENNB1), an emerging mycotoxin, on porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs), a species‐specific model relevant to human innate immunity. PAMs were exposed to increasing ENNB1 concentrations (0.5–6 μM) over 6, 24, and 48 h. Results showed a biphasic response: ENNB1 initially enhanced cell viability and induced upregulation of pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐10, TNF‐α), COX enzymes, and antioxidant gene GPX‐2. However, prolonged exposure caused downregulation of these markers and reduced cell viability, indicating cytotoxic and immunosuppressive effects. The temporal and concentration‐dependent responses suggest that ENNB1 modulates macrophage function by altering the immune response, with early immune activation followed by immune impairment. These findings provide novel insights into ENNB1’s potential to alter immune homeostasis and highlight the need for further toxicological studies for a correct evaluation of the risk.

The almost complete absence of regulations to protect invertebrates is a common condition in legal systems, including the European one, especially when it comes to invertebrates intended for human consumption. Thus, in the vast majority of cases, edible invertebrates do not receive even the most basic protection at slaughter. Despite recent research indicating that invertebrates are capable of feeling pain and stress, the humane step of stunning is not used on them. This is also the case for land snails, which are gastropod invertebrates whose consumption has now reached significant levels, already involving tonnes and that is expected to increase significantly as edible snail farming becomes more popular as a relatively low-cost, easy-to-perform, and sustainable alternative animal husbandry, thereby making land snails an increasingly economically important species. This paper presents and investigates a proposed stunning method based on the immersion of mollusks in CO₂-supplemented and refrigerated water that could be used in the snail meat production chain to reduce the slaughter suffering of millions of these invertebrates. To this end, body condition descriptors (hemolymph parameters) in snails were determined before and after CO₂ treatment in cold water, while generating useful data for defining a preliminary set of reference intervals for basal values.