Reminder: T-2 and HT-2 toxins monitoring - FSA/FSS call for data
2023-0094
Members are reminded that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) are requesting data on the levels of T-2 and HT-2 toxins present in food.
This call for data will be of most interest to:
- food and farming industry trade associations
- mycotoxin researchers and academia
- grain stores
- farmers
- interested international parties
Risk management
The FSA and FSS are gathering information on T-2 and HT-2 toxins in food so that these contaminants can be reviewed, and consumer exposure assessed through the risk analysis process.
Outputs will include a risk assessment and evidence base which will inform any future risk management advice including possible risk management options to be presented to ministers.
T-2 and HT-2 are mycotoxins which can be produced under cool and moist conditions prior to harvest by the fusarium species of fungi and mainly affect cereal crops such as oats, wheat, and barley.
The presence of these mycotoxins is heavily weather-dependent and can exhibit large annual variability.
This dependence on climate also means that there are currently no sufficient methods for the mitigation of T-2 and HT-2 production via good agricultural practices.
How to respond
AIC is encouraging Members to make representations themselves, and data can be sent to the FSA/FSS by using the FSA template (see attached). Guidance on how to input your data is also attached to this briefing.
To submit your data, complete the attached spreadsheet template and email it to [email protected] with a distinguishable file name including T-2 and HT-2.
Deadline for responses
The deadline for submission is 31 October 2023.
This is an FSA/FSS call, and any data submitted will be available to these bodies and used in the risk analysis process for these mycotoxins. Data collected will be published as aggregated data and not attributed to an individual, business, trade body or organisation.
Full details of this call for data can be found on the FSA website.
Further details
The FSA and FSS are seeking data from throughout the cereals supply chain, from field to retail level to understand the levels of T-2 and HT-2 that consumers are being exposed to.
The bodies are particularly interested in gathering data on cereals both pre and post-cleaning/dehulling and finished products, including, where possible, data that spans multiple years to reflect any annual variability of T-2/HT-2 levels.
They would like to gather data from:
- farm – unprocessed grain prior to cleaning
- mill intake/post-cleaning
- post dehulling
- after processing – kilning, steel cutting, steaming, flaking etc
- finished products
- imported products
In addition to the mandatory fields in the spreadsheet it would be useful to include the following, if this information is available, using the evalInfo.com column (Column AP):
- a clear description of where sampling took place in the supply chain
- state - i.e. processed/unprocessed
- geographical region of sampling
FSA and FSS are seeking data that is representative of the levels found at each stage of the supply chain, including non-detects and high values.
Should you require any assistance in your submission, or have any further questions, please contact [email protected].
Author
Rose Riby
Rose Riby is Head of Combinable Crops and Seed. Having worked across these sectors for many years, she has a depth and breadth of experience in roles in grain trading, plant breeding and knowledge exchange at AHDB.