Researchers develop rapid screening test for mycotoxin detection

Battling mycotoxins:Improved testing system for grain toxins

After close cooperation with researchers at the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (Bioforsk), Norwegian grain dealers are implementing a newly devised computational model and rapid screening tests to improve control of toxins in Norwegian cereals.

"This is one of the grain industry's biggest advances in many years, one that would not have been possible without the help of these researchers," says grain supervisor Hans Stokke of Felleskjøpet Agri, the country's largest grain dealer and feed producer.

An increasing problem

Mycotoxins - a group of naturally-occurring toxins - in grain have been a growing plight to Norwegian agriculture in recent years. The alarm first sounded when high mycotoxin concentrations were discovered in 2004, primarily in oats. After the grain harvest of 2009, some 55,000 tonnes of oats with excessive mycotoxin content have had to remain in storage.

That incident illustrates the problem well, says Mr Stokke. "With the limited measures available to us, it's been difficult to fully manage our flow of goods. We've lacked the tools to really take command of the situation."

In need of rapid screening

In cereal crops, the fungus Fusarium produces mycotoxins which in concentrations too large are harmful to humans and animals. It is important that each grain lot is checked for excessive mycotoxin levels before it is dumped into an enormous silo or grain factory.

But no suitable rapid screening test existed for checking a grain load at the grain factories- so in 2006 a larger project to find a suitable test was launched by Bioforsk's Plant Health and Plant Protection Division, grain industry players and others. This has been one of several mycotoxin projects funded under the Food Programme within the research area of food safety.

The mycotoxin problems have hit the feed industry particularly hard. Pigs, horses and poultry are most vulnerable to high concentrations of mycotoxins, while ruminants have higher tolerance.

Quickly implemented

"Mycotoxins in grain are a significant setback internationally and are becoming more and more problematic in Norway and the Nordic region," explains Head of Research Dr Sonja Klemsdal of Bioforsk's Plant Health and Plant Protection Division.

"Unfortunately, not all knowledge from other regions such as North America and Europe directly applies to Norwegian conditions. We've had to develop our own computational model for mycotoxins, modified for the Norwegian climate and growing methods." She and her colleague, Research Manager Dr Guro Brodal, are prominent mycotoxin researchers in Norway.

"We have examined whether the rapid screening methods available on the market perform reliably under Norwegian conditions," adds Dr Brodal, "and in fact, they do. Using a rapid screening test in combination with the computational model for Norway, screening can focus on grain from fields with the highest risk of mycotoxins."