Grain Sampling Protocols for Aflatoxin Analysis and Associated Challenges

Abstract. Aflatoxins are known to pose several health hazards to consumers of grains and co-products. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorized aflatoxin as group I carcinogen. Worldwide, the toxin level in commercially marketed food and feed is highly regulated. Rejection or acceptance of samples destined for market depends on measured toxin content. However, the sampling method employed during the toxin measurement step could misrepresent the bulk lot resulting in inaccurate data; this could be catastrophic to consumers if the bulk average toxin content is above the acceptable limit. Despite the fact that certain level of uncertainty is unavoidable in aflatoxin sampling, some protocols are available to reduce this uncertainty to an acceptable level. The presentation and review focus on the effects of sampling, sample preparation, and analysis on the accuracy of reported aflatoxin contents. The latest developments on standard sampling operating procedures for aflatoxin test in grains are presented.