Qualimeter: twenty years of innovation in mycotoxin risk prediction for food safety

November 20, 2024 - Since 2004, Syngenta has been developing “Qualimeter”, a pre-harvest mycotoxin risk prediction tool for grain collectors and the cereal industry, and continues to develop it.

Continuous adaptation for 20 years

Launched 20 years ago, Qualimétrie has constantly adapted to the needs of operators. Since this year, interested users have benefited from maps which “allow them to better visualize and target the wheat plot risk”, specifies Alain Froment, sector manager at Syngenta. Over the course of the campaigns, new criteria have been integrated such as the specific weight for wheat and “others are being studied”. The development of the plant is now monitored and modeled until harvest. The list of mycotoxins has also expanded, in particular with the inclusion of monitoring of the risk of the presence of aflatoxins on corn.

In addition, the reliability of forecasts for soft wheat, durum wheat and corn continues to strengthen from year to year with the increase in data and the extension of the areas observed.

Qualimeter, a French innovation to conquer the world

Crop monitoring by Qualimeter currently represents just under a million hectares of wheat and corn with around forty partner cooperatives and businesses in France. It is the number 1 tool used for mycotoxin forecasts before harvest. Since 2020, use has expanded to Europe and is being tested in North America. The use of Qualimeter in the world's major agricultural regions coupled with progress in Data Mining and Syngenta's digital expertise not only contributes to the continuous improvement of the tool but above all responds to a major food safety issue.

An estimate of mycotoxin risk based on pedoclimatic and agronomic data

Based on precise agronomic and meteorological data, Qualimeter provides targeted estimates of mycotoxin risk for each plot. A forecast report is established for grain collectors at the beginning of September for corn and two weeks after flowering for wheat. New alerts, updated and refined, are sent back before harvest if necessary. The purpose of this tool is “to alert of a risk of the presence of mycotoxins as early as possible, explains Alain Froment, so that stored organisms can best anticipate storage and allocation.” If the pressure for the year turns out to be high, “they will strengthen their monitoring plans for the batches of cereals most likely to cause problems. Operators will also be able to adjust their cereal marketing strategy according to the demands of their customers.

“This year, the wheat reports were eagerly awaited given the rainfall during the flowering period. The first forecasts, from the beginning of June, were rather reassuring depending on the regions linked in particular to the cool temperatures which must also be taken into account. The partner organizations were therefore able to focus very early on the issues specific to the 2024 harvest.”

The work of segmenting the batches of cooperatives and traders, according to their technological qualities but also, in this case, health, is essential for cereal processors for whom the use of their suppliers to Qualimeter is an additional means of security.

As food safety regulations become stricter and the climate evolves, Qualimeter continues to adapt.

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.