Contaminated Cereal Products Rejected at EU Boarders

In the month of May alone, over 20 cases of feed and cereal based products have been rejected at EU boarders after testing positive for aflatoxins with a risk decision level marking of ‘serious’, countries of origin include; Turkey, Egypt, Gambia, U.S, Indonesia, India, Azerbaijan and Spain. The European Union have set tolerance levels for Aflatoxin B1 at 2 parts per billion (ppb) and total aflatoxins at 4ppb for nuts, cereals and dried fruits.

Aflatoxins are a mycotoxin produced by a fungus and thrive in hot and humid climates. Aflatoxin B1 is the most prevalent among food products and commonly occur among cereals (including wheat, barley, rice and corn) oilseeds (peanuts, almonds, pistachios and other nuts) spices, fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products.

Screening for Mycotoxins

There are various screening methods available for mycotoxins in food, but few offer the choice of screening for multiple mycotoxins from one sample. Randox Food Diagnostics created patented Biochip Array Technology (BAT), an immunoassay ELISA based method, to save the feed and cereal industry time and money on testing. The Myco Array kit range can screen for 3-10 mycotoxins simultaneously from a single sample and depending on the users testing requirements customisable kits are available.

For more information on mycotoxin screening with Randox Food Diagnostics contact info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com