EU legislation may cause trouble for the oat industry

FURTHER EU legislation governing fusarium mycotoxin levels in cereals destined for human consumption could pose problems for the UK oat industry.

Levels of the fusarium species fusarium langsethiae, thought to be responsible for the production of the so-called HT2 and T2 mycotoxins, are increasing in UK cereal crops and the concentration of HT2 and T2 in oats appears to be rising across all regions.

Describing 2007 as a ‘moderate' year for fusarium mycotoxins in wheat, fusarium expert Dr Simon Edwards of Harper Adams University College said that concentrations of HT2 and T2 mycotoxins remained high in oats and were possibly increasing in barley.

Outlining results from studies of mycotoxin levels in UK wheat, barley and oats, funded by the Food Standards Agency and the Home-Grown Cereals Authority, he said that 30 per cent per cent of oat samples tested failed the 500 parts per billion (ppb) ‘discussion limit' for HT2 and T2 mycotoxins set by the EU.

“HT2 and T2 is potentially a big issue if we have a 500ppb limit. There is not a problem [in oats] with DON and zearalone mycotoxins,” said Dr Edwards.

This year's testing indicated that 3.4 per cent of wheat samples would not meet the 1250ppb legal limit set for DON and the 100ppb limit set for zearalone.

Existing advice on minimising the risk of mycotoxin contamination related to these two mycotoxins but HT2 and T2 were produced by different fusarium species and the impact of agronomy on them was different to that observed for DON in wheat.