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May 14, 2019

Mycotoxins

by SGS America, US

Last fall’s unseasonal moisture created several complications for those needing to harvest crops across the US, and the above-average precipitation has resulted in further issues with feed quality. The rapid surge of mycotoxins in commodities from the 2018 harvest is a growing concern for those who are storing grain or feeding livestock.
 


2018 mycotoxin recap
Mycotoxins are a global threat to commodities. Currently, over four hundred mycotoxins have been isolated, with still more being identified. Their toxicity represents a serious threat to human and animal health and, because they remain chemically stable at high temperatures, the threat can be passed along the entire supply chain.

The SGS Mycotoxin Monitoring Programme in Europe has served as a good risk mitigation tool for many customers. Using our early warnings, many companies avoid major issues related to contamination. Even before harvesting the corn crop in 2018, SGS highlighted potential issues in Russia and other select countries based on weather monitoring and preharvest testing.

It is now confirmed that for the 2018 corn crop, Russia is the country at greatest risk for contamination and is seeing multiple mycotoxin issues, including aflatoxins, ochratoxins, and fumonisins.

Several regions across the US and Canada are also battling with mycotoxin contamination, especially in corn, wheat, and barley. Due to a wet fall and delayed harvest, vomitoxin (DON) has been widespread across the country, with Minnesota and Pennsylvania reporting DON contamination in barley.

DON was also detected in the wheat harvest across Wisconsin, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio, while DON has been present in corn across Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Indiana, Ohio, Vermont, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, Canada.

Various mycotoxin issues have been plaguing the corn crop aside from DON. Aflatoxin has become an issue in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, and North Carolina. Fumonisins were detected in the corn crop in Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New York and Nebraska. Zearalenone was reported in Iowa, South Dakota, Vermont, Nebraska, Illinois, and Ohio, while T-2/HT-2 toxin has been found in the Canada corn crop in Ontario.

Mycotoxins pose a significant risk to crop quality across the world, making the protection of crops and commodities against such contamination a critical issue. Understanding the conditions that cause mycotoxins, how to identify them, and how to prevent them are crucial in ensuring that your commodity value is not compromised.


Read more https://issuu.com/gfmt/docs/mag1905_w1/62HERE.
 

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.


For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

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