DON (Vomitoxin) Testing

I am guessing "Microbiology" is the best folder to place this question in.

 

We are recently running into higher than normal DON levels in the wheat we are taking in from a particular geographical area in North America and as such we are keeping a close eye on our DON testing.

 

We had a customer complaint about a load of bran that we sent to them that was higher than FDA guidelines. During heightened testing actions resulting from that I saw something, I'm not sure what maybe it was quality intuition, that made me look at the repeatability of the equipment we are using.  All of our mills are using the same equipment and testing method, and it seems fine with flour, but not so much on bran.

 

What equipment are other people using for DON testing and what is your standard deviation/level of repeatability that you have seen in your places of business?  

 

Having to put out a product that is less than 1.0 or 2.0 DON I don't see a .5 swing as acceptable or a standard deviation of .3 acceptable... however if that turns out to be business standard then there is nothing I can do on my end to take care of it.

 

The following test data came from one large batch made in proportion and split into 10 samples each run twice:

 

 

  1st Run 2nd Run Difference Sample 1 0.72 1.27 0.55 Sample 2 0.94 0.93 0.01 Sample 3 0.7 0.72 0.02 Sample 4 1.17 0.98 0.19 Sample 5 1.05 0.74 0.31 Sample 6 0.91 1.21 0.3 Sample 7 1.08 1.16 0.08 Sample 8 1.25 2.02 0.77 Sample 9 1.2 1.73 0.53 Sample 10 1.05 1.01 0.04

 

 

Average of all tests: 1.092 Median of all tests: 1.05 Standard Deviation: 0.326135

 

The tester we have is

 

ELx808 by BioTek.  We received some test samples, not blind, from the manufacturer that were wheat and corn (not the product I'm having issues with) and we had excellent results.  This tells me that the equipment isn't having a direct testing issue however it doesn't tell me anything with bran.  The equipment isn't certified by AACC for wheat products  (bran, flour, germ) just wheat itself. 

 

We have sent samples to a sister lab to see what results they get on the bran and I thought my lab tech had sent a sample out to an outside lab but apparently that didn't happen.

 

Any information would be helpful.

 

Thanks,

 

Merle

Oh that table did not show up the way it did in my post box let me repost it here.

 

                         1st run             2nd run           difference

Sample 1           0.72                  1.27                  0.55

Sample 2           0.94                  0.93                  0.01

Sample 3           0.70                  0.72                  0.02

Sample 4           1.17                  0.98                  0.19

Sample 5           1.05                  0.74                  0.31

Sample 6           0.91                  1.21                  0.30

Sample 7           1.08                  1.16                  0.08

Sample 8           1.25                  2.02                  0.77

Sample 9           1.20                  1.73                  0.53

Sample 10         1.05                  1.10                  0.04

 

Average of all tests: 1.092

Median of all tests: 1.05

Standard Deviation: 0.326135   -   I rounded down to .3 during presentation due to significant figure.

Sorry I should mention that the product we are looking at comes from soft red wheat and it's fine bran.

Hi MerleW,

 

what are the units? mg/kg?

In the EC the limit is 750 µg/kg for cereal products and 500 µg/kg for products like bread, fine bakery wares etc.

Repeatability means: a) same sample (bran), but starting from the beginning with sample preparation... or b) from prepared sample checking the test kit only?

 

Rgds

moskito

Moskito,

 

The results are in parts per million (ppm) our regulatory requirement in the United States is 1ppm for human consumption then there are a few other tiers for animals 2ppm and 5ppm.

 

The repeatability was set up with 1 large bran sample mixed in the same proportion as if it was a normal sized sample and then split into 10 test vials and run in the sampler 2 times each.

Any other thoughts or inputs on equipment and normal testing deviation?

 

I don't really know what else to do other than either asking you all for your knowledge on the subject or cold calling every pet food company and asking for their quality department...

 

Speaking of that if you have the contact information of someone you know really well that works in pet food industry in the states and you think they could help me please send their name and contact email to my inbox on this site and I'll start emailing them.

 

Thanks,

 

:tardis:

Bumping this to see if anyone has any new thoughts or if any new members have any ideas.