Occurrence of deoxynivalenol in Czech grain

A survey of deoxynivalenol (DON) content in cereals intended for human consumption was carried out in the Czech Republic (CR) over a seven-year period (2000-2006). Wheat, barley and rye samples of harvested cereals were collected directly from farmers where the selection was based on sample origin. In wheat, randomly sampled spikes and risk samples selected on the basis of visually scabby kernels (VSK) were also analysed. An immunochemical method, ELISA, was used for analysis. The maximum limit, according to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006, for DON content (1,250 µg/kg) in unprocessed cereals for human nutrition was exceeded in random samples of wheat in 3.5% out of 345 analysed samples, of barley in 1.6% out of 498 analysed samples, and there were no samples of rye (out of 113) exceeding this limit. The analysis of spike samples and the samples that were selected based on VSK occurrence revealed much higher levels of DON content. Highly significant effects of the year, sample origin, and preceding crop on the DON content were found.