White Papers

As government-mandated and industry-driven hazard identification and prevention efforts become standard operating procedure for an expanding cross-section of the global feed industry, the need of its diverse stakeholders for fast, easy, cost-effective access to reliable aflatoxin data continues to intensify. Recognition of aflatoxins as a chemical hazard of very high concern spans the gamut of national and international regulatory agencies, standards bodies, and public health organizations from the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the Pan American Health Organization to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Codex Alimentary Commission. This broad consensus coincides with surging public demand for food production practices that protect humans and animals from dietary contaminants. Their interplay has heightened awareness of the industry’s key role in the agricultural sphere and the weighty responsibilities it entails. As a linchpin of the dairy and other livestock sectors and thus both a major contributor to animal welfare and a vital link in the global food supply chain, the feed industry is increasingly viewed as one of the logical starting points for strict control of a universally acknowledged threat to animal well-being, public health, and food security.

As toxic contaminants of very high concern, aflatoxins stand out as a key area of focus in today’s food safety testing arena. The issues surrounding the rising importance of accurate, defensible aflatoxin test results are numerous and complex. Chief among them are a growing public awareness of the health and economic implications of foodborne toxins, the increasing globalization of the agri-food supply chain, and the passage of stronger food safety laws in the United States, as well as in Europe, China, and India.

The peanut businesses at every stage of the value chain, the ability to instill confidence in the safety and quality of their products frequently hinges on the strength of their aflatoxin test data. Information on aflatoxin levels plays a crucial role in far-reaching decisions by peanut industry members and other food safety stakeholders ranging from peanut growers, processors, and manufacturers to testing laboratories and government regulators. To ensure the accuracy and reliability of that information, the analytic tools and procedures that generate it must be specifically designed to simplify and resolve the intrinsic complexity of determining aflatoxin levels in peanuts.

The food and feed industries quest to balance quality and safety assurance with economy and efficiency has always posed challenges, but in the context of an increasingly globalized food supply, rising concern about foodborne illness, the need for mycotoxin test methods that help companies do more with less has taken on a new urgency.

Evolving efforts to limit the health and environmental impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals raise the performance bar for trace analysis: An estrogen-like chemical that can interfere with hormonal function, BPA has long been a key component of the polycarbonate polymers and epoxy resins used to create the myriad thermoplastic products and thermosetting plastic materials that pervade modern life. While BPA remains the focus of a long-standing controversy surrounding the assessment of chemical toxicity, mounting pressure from consumer and environmental advocacy groups continues to drive ever tighter and more extensive government and industry limits on its use in food packaging and other plastic products. This white paper details why BPA is a chemical of increasing scientific concern and how advances in BPA testing can help laboratories meet evolving demands.

For the dairy industry, the difficulty of adapting to today’s rapidly evolving regulatory environment is as undeniable as the urgent need to rise to the challenge. As producers of a dietary staple in the majority of nations around the globe, the dairy industry is an important source of nutritional and economic value for a significant portion of the industrialized and developing world, providing 10 percent of the world’s protein supply and generating global revenues projected to reach USD 442.32 billion by 2019. This white paper details the regulatory and marketplace challenges related to mycotoxin contamination in dairy as well as the detection methodologies available to test for the presence of these natural toxins.

The natural toxic contaminant ochratoxin A (OTA) poses an ongoing threat to the marketability and value of coffee at every step of its journey to market. For growers and exporters in major coffee- producing regions, this risk literally comes with the territory. The tropical and subtropical climate zones that favor cultivation of the two dominant coffee varieties, Arabica and Robusta, also encourage the growth of several species of Aspergillus molds that produce this potent mycotoxin. This white paper details the regulatory and marketplace challenges related to mycotoxin contamination in coffee as well as the detection methodologies available to test for the presence of these natural toxins.

Full implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) ushers in a new regulatory climate that raises profound implications for every food and agricultural industry stakeholder. This sweeping reform of food safety law not only calls for stricter FDA oversight of the way agricultural commodities are cultivated, transported, stored, processed, tested, and verified as fit for their intended use, but also authorizes the agency to enforce consistent industry-wide standards. This white paper outlines the key changes in the FDA’s stance on food safety since the passage of FSMA, the compliance challenges these changes raise, and the growing importance of upstream mycotoxin testing as a FSMA-informed strategy for staying one step ahead of a costly food safety problem.

As pet food companies continue to strengthen their efforts to maximize the quality and safety of their products, the issue of mycotoxins in raw materials has risen to the top of their priorities list. The prevention of mycotoxin contamination in the grain components of animal diets is not only an essential goal, but also an immense challenge that requires the combined efforts of pet food manufacturers, their supply chain partners, and the laboratories that test their products.

Mycotoxin Testing in the Feed Chain — A Risk Prevention Strategy for Raw Material Suppliers, Grain Storage Facilities and Processors, and Feed Manufacturers: For feed chain stakeholders in an increasingly competitive marketplace, the bottom line can rise or fall with the contaminant levels in grain and other raw materials. The repercussions of feedstuffs that fail to meet the highest safety and quality standards can spread across the entire value chain, jeopardizing livestock health and the reputation and economic performance of multiple businesses and entire growing regions. The price of undetected contamination can prove particularly high when the toxic threat in question comes from a class of fungal contaminants known as mycotoxins. The reasons lie in the very nature of these toxic mold metabolites and their numerous biological effects on animals.

Mycotoxin Analysis in Tree Nuts – Regulatory, Technology, and Economic Considerations – For tree nut processors and traders, the results of contaminant testing are a key determinant of market share and profitability. Tree nuts that meet the most stringent purity standards command higher prices and fulfill the toughest trade requirements while products that fall short are sold at lower margins and may lose access to the most lucrative markets. Given the far-reaching economic impact of contaminant levels, the price of test results that misrepresent them could prove unaffordable.

The Economic, Environmental, and Social Benefits of Multi-analyte Methods: As the demand for productivity growth and the reality of limited resources have converged, sustainability has become the watchword of forward-looking organizations. In its broadest sense, sustainability refers to the capacity of resources, systems, and processes to endure over the long term. To qualify as sustainable, the processes that drive analytical laboratories must meet the needs of the present without jeopardizing the organization’s long-term productivity or the success and well-being of future generations. To that end, analytical processes must be economically sound as well as environmentally friendly and socially responsible. That’s a tall order, especially in the realm of mycotoxin analysis.