Food and feed hygiene for farmers and growers

All cereal farmers must be aware of mycotoxins that could be present in their crops. Mycotoxins are toxic compounds produced by some fungi. If left untreated, mycotoxins can be hazardous to animal and human health.

There are legal limits on the levels of mycotoxins present in cereals and cereal products.

The main types of mycotoxins of concern that usually affect UK crops are:

• fusarium toxins in the field
• ochratoxin A in stored grain
• aflatoxins

Reducing mycotoxins

You can reduce the risk of mycotoxins through good agricultural practice, which means performing a risk assessment and taking the appropriate actions to manage the risk. For example, you could:

• dry crops thoroughly before storage
• avoid intense rotation of fungi host crops
• reduce previous crop residue
• choose resistant crop varieties
• consider using fungicide

Download a code of practice for reducing mycotoxins in cereal (PDF, 423KB).