Managing mycotoxins: European traders ramp up crop monitoring to bolster food and feed safety

03 Jul 2024 --- More than 94% of the members of the European association of trade in cereals, oilseeds, rice, pulses, olive oil, oils and fats, animal feed and agro supply (COCERAL) sample their produce to “monitor mycotoxins,” reveals a survey. Maize, wheat and barley are the most tested crops for the contaminant. 

This comes as scientists and food and feed ingredient companies increasingly target the crop contaminant to bolster food safety. Mycotoxins infect more than 25% of globally produced grains yearly, lower crop quality and cause financial losses for farmers.

Coceral’s Mycotoxins Survey details results from 22 June 2023 to 15 October 2023 and reveals its members’ “continuous awareness” of managing mycotoxin risks in food and feed.

The survey includes responses from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Romania and the UK. It covers a total volume of traded grains of 36 million metric tons.

Farmer support and crop analysis
Containment of mycotoxins in crops is important as these are toxic secondary metabolites naturally produced by different types of fungi, such as Aspergillus spp, that can enter the food chain because of infection of crops before (field mycotoxins) or after harvest (storage mycotoxins). They are typically found in cereals and oilseeds, meant for human and animal consumption.

“The presence of mycotoxins in food and feed may cause adverse health effects in humans and animals, ranging from gastrointestinal and kidney disorders to immune deficiency and cancer,” states the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Mycotoxins are typically found in cereals and oilseeds meant for human and animal consumption.Keeping these risks in mind, COCERAL’s members actively manage the risk of mycotoxin development. 

Agro supply distributors “advise” farmers all along the production cycle on agricultural practices to prevent mycotoxin development, and grain collectors and traders “analyze” crop samples taken at harvest, in-store, at loading before transport or at delivery.

The members act “before and after” the farmers as agro supply distributors, grain collectors and international traders.

Preventing mycotoxin risk
The first part of COCERAL’s “biannual survey” focuses specifically on agro supply distributors’ contribution to the “prevention of mycotoxins risk” in the field. These include fusarium resistant seeds or adapted fungicides treatments or advising farmers on good agricultural practices (tillage, crop rotations etc). 

The second section focuses on “sampling and testing” practices by grain collectors and international traders.

The third section aims at “evaluating the impact” of controls received by the members in the framework of the official regulation for mycotoxins in foodstuffs. 

The report also aims to understand the points of view of grain collectors and international traders regarding the measures they take to prevent and mitigate mycotoxins risks in operations and the ones asked by their customers.

 The new step also considers traders’ views on estimating which mycotoxins might become more prevalent in the countries the grains and oilseeds are sourced from.

Emerging mycotoxins
The COCERAL members expect mycotoxins like aflatoxins and ochratoxins in corn, deoxynivalenol, the sum of T-2 and H-T2 toxins in all cereals, zearalenone and alternaria toxins in oilseeds to become more prevalent in the next ten years due to heat waves, especially in southeastern Europe. There is also a “growing concern” for the rise of Tilletia spp and rust fungi.

COCERAL members recommend farmers use better crop rotation practices and fungicides at the right dose and time to reduce mycotoxin risks.They also expect an increasing percentage of grains fit for human consumption will have to be “declassified as feed,” as EU regulatory levels for mycotoxins in food will “likely not be met” due to an increase in prevalence and co-occurrence of different mycotoxins.

“An increased prevalence and occurrence of mycotoxins will lead to unpredictable food and feed safety issues and huge economic repercussions for our members (increased sampling, testing, recalls, rejections etc.), leading ultimately to changes in food and feed security patterns at EU and international level,” flags the report.

What can be done?
The members recommend farmers perform meteorological surveys during critical crop stages, use only certified seed material, use better crop rotation practices and apply fungicides at the “right dose and at the right time” to mitigate the risks of mycotoxin to food and human health.

Other techniques include harvesting grains when they are ready and dry and cooling them “slowly and gently” in storage, ensuring proper cooling and ventilation, contract specifications and internal monitoring programs.

Performing more sampling and testing at all stages and always using skilled personnel and accredited laboratories when using confirmatory test methods also play a significant role.

However, the members highlight a “lack of reliable quick tests” for certain mycotoxins, such as ergot alkaloids and expect new tools for collectors and traders to speed up mycotoxin assessment in grains and oilseeds.

They now seek more cooperation from the EFSA, FAO and the scientific community, especially regarding the forecast models to understand how climate change and mycotoxin prevalence and co-occurrence are related.

By Insha Naureen