National Reference Laboratory for Mycotoxins
Mould toxins (mycotoxins) are one possible cause of food intoxications when mouldy food has been ingested. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of mould. Up to now more than 300 mycotoxins have been described in the literature which may be formed by more than 250 types of mould. Some mycotoxins are only formed by specific species, others by many species of different fungal strains.
The known representatives of mycotoxins are:
- Aflatoxins
- Ochratoxins
- Ergot alkaloids
- Fusarium toxins (trichothecenes, fumonisins, zearalenones)
- Patulin
- Alternaria toxins
Relevant amounts of many mycotoxins are only produced under laboratory conditions. A limited number of mycotoxins may also be formed at higher concentrations under natural conditions according to the knowledge currently available. In this context it is often important to distinguish between mycotoxins that already formed in the field or not until storage of a food. Furthermore it must be borne in mind that any mycotoxins in feed may be carried over to food.
For consumer health protection it is essential to further reduce the food-related mycotoxin exposure of human beings. In this context official feed and food control plays a particularly important role. This can be strengthened by setting up a corresponding National Reference Laboratory in all EU Member States.
The National Reference Laboratory for Mycotoxins is attached to the BfR Chemical-Analytical Centre. The focus of its work is on the analysis of these substances for official control in order to protect consumers from overly high levels of exposure. The necessary laboratory tests draw on complicated sample preparation, sensitive arrays and suitable sampling.
Main areas of the NRL for Mycotoxins
The tasks of the National Reference Laboratory for Mycotoxins include:
- Co-ordination of the activities of the laboratories which have been commissioned in Germany to undertake analysis (mainly in conjunction with the official food and feed control)
- Support for the competent food control authorities in shaping the control system
- Development and validation of analytical methods
- Passing on information from the EU Community Reference Laboratory to the competent German authorities and the national laboratories responsible for carrying out the above analyses
- Conduct of regular comparative tests between the various laboratories commissioned to do the above analyses in order to maintain and promote high standards of control.
