CONTROL OF ERGOT ALKALOIDS IN INDUSTRIAL MILLING

摘要

Managing the risk of ergot and its toxic ergot alkaloids is an ongoing challenge for the grain processing industry. This article provides an overview on the current situation, including recent amendments of the European Regulation on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and the resulting requirements for grain cleaning measures.It also presents in detail test results performed in two German rye mills, to show how the level of ergot alkaloids can be influenced by grain cleaning and milling processes. Immediate conclusions can be drawn from this data, on the effectiveness of individual cleaning steps undertaken in the mills to reduce the level of ergot alkaloids in rye flour.