Mycotoxins in flour

hello everyone

we mill flour in our plant and i would just like to ask on how could we prevent mycotoxins in our finished product since only dry cleaning is employed?

i also checked the articles here at the network and one of those stated for control was to monitor the mycotoxins throughout the production chain. Does this mean we would have to sample flour at each stage and subject it to mycotoxin testing?

Some other tools stated were also environmental monitoring of conditions such as measuring water activity and temperature in exposed areas. How could we implement this? Do we have to measure water activity also on each stage? As for temperature, what is the most ideal temperature for flourmills to prevent contamination?


Last question, if ever our flour becomes contaminated, what could we possibly do to correct the contamination?
Your feedbacks and inputs would be greatly appreciated.

cheers!

Not sure if they will be any help to you but we've had some articles related to mycotoxins published on our website recently.

Take a look here

Regards,
Simon

Hello
Sorry I'm answering so late but I just missed this topic. I work in polish mill and I know that mycotoxins stuff is very difficult. I tell you how it looks like in our company, maybe it will help you
Mycotoxins are part of our HACCP plan, it's not a CCP. It wouldn't be possible to check every batch so we do it in determinated periods of time, for example twice or three times a year we check wheat and rye, so the same we do with flours. I know that polish sanitary inspection does it even more often than we do it Till now none of our clients complain about the way we solve mycotoxins problem. Polish law still doesn't tells us how often we should check the mycotoxins level in our products. So we do it like I said: twice or three times a year or often when there's such a need. In other post I mentioned about mycotoxins scandal with rye flour two years ago. Mycotoxins are CP in our HACCP plan.
We check wheat and rye during every delivery looking for any sign of mold stroke. It's about the smell or insight of the grain. I know it's not ideal way of preventing mold dirt but polish agriculture is so much small that is no way to check grain from all the farmers.
During the whole year we clean all equipment. We look for place where the mold could grow. Milling is the process where grains fall down on roll, get hotter during milling and then it comes down in cold tubes of pneumatic transport. So that's are the most important place: hot rolls. When it happens that mill stops, rolls are the place where the water can occur. And there can molds be found.
I don't know how to avoid contamination completly. I don't think it's possible. We also check flours for presence of mold and other micro-organism every month so we can see if anything bad is going on. I noticed that the biggest amount of molds in flours is in june- july, so we remember to pay attention on cleaness of the equpiment.
All these thing passes the exams and I hope I will never hear about higher mycotoxins level than maximum in our products. If it happens first thing you should do is to confirm the results and start the recall procedure. I'm afraid that cleaning and desinfection of equpiment would be necessery, maybe made by professional company. I must admit that these theme is very difficult even for me, I think it over once again and try answer later
One more thing: Simon the articles are really interesting
Best regards for all

One more thing: Simon the articles are really interesting
Best regards for all

I'm glad you liked them adobrosielska, thanks for the feedback.

Best Regards,
Simon

“we mill flour in our plant and i would just like to ask on how could we prevent mycotoxins in our finished product since only dry cleaning is employed?”-

Hi Althene,



I agree with Adobrosielska that Mycotoxin productions are quite difficult to prevent and one of your controls would be is to ensure growth of pathogenic fungi in agricultural practices i.e. from the farm. Checking every delivery and having supplier control is one of the most important ways to prevent / reduce the mycotoxin in your mill. If you can visit the farms and to see the practices you can check if any favorable factors for fungal growth is likely, like humid temperatures, insect / pest infestations etc. What are the practices done in the farm to dry the seeds, the storage conditions or any further treatments done to reduce the Mycotoxins etc.



What methods (if any) are used for detoxifying the product? Do you employ ozonation of the rooms for control?

 

“Some other tools stated were also environmental monitoring of conditions such as measuring water activity and temperature in exposed areas”-

Air samplers are used for environmental samples and then inoculated in plates and expressed in cfu/m³ .I have used this in my previous industry, the equipment was from Millipore and they supply plates and sterile filter.



I have heard of respiratory diseases in workers in mills due to inhalation of the dust, therefore I believe you have control measures like masks worn and a good exhaust systems.

“I agree with Adobrosielska that Mycotoxin productions are quite difficult to prevent and one of your controls would be is to ensure growth of pathogenic fungi in agricultural practices i.e. from the farm.”

A correction as I missed out few words.



I agree with Adobrosielska that Mycotoxin productions are quite difficult to prevent and one of your controls would be is to ensure growth of pathogenic fungi is controlled or prevented in agricultural practices i.e. from the farm.

I know that this is an old topic but I forget mentioned about very important and very effective way of prevent mycotoxins contamination in flours. There are two very modern part of our equipment: that are Sortex and DC Peeler. First one is “a combination of the most advanced cameras and shape recognition which identifies the widest range of foreign material, extraneous vegetable matter, smaller spot defects, finer product damage and subtler colours”. So we have grain with really good quality. And now DC peeler, the more important one when we talk about mycotoxins. “DC Peeler is applied in the grain processing industry for reducing contamination caused by bacteria, mycotoxins and heavy metals and for improving the quality of finished products after the processing of various grain varieties”. They say that it is possible to reduce mycotoxins level even about 40-70%, bacteria 5-10 times, heavy metals (without Cd) about 90%, and sand about over 90%.


I must admit that’s true. We had grain about the level of mycotoxins contamination almost the same. But there was a huge difference in final product: one made before the mill renovation: the ochratoxin was 1,6, and after renovation is less than 0,25.

I hope it could help if anybody is interested in mill industry J

One more thing: I’d like to thank the Buhler company for their advertising materials

Hello!

Old post but I have some free time and I am just adding encyclopedic knowledge that could be useful!

Foodborne Mycotoxins - Chemistry, Biology, Ecology and Toxicology

Determination of Mycotoxins in Grains and Related Products

Training Manual - On-Farm Mycotoxin Control in Food and Feed Grain

Mycotoxins in Food - Detection and Control

Mycotoxins - Detection Methods, Management, Public Health and Agricultural Trade

Mycotoxins and Food Safety

The Mechanics and Physics of Modern Grain Aeration Management

Cheers!