Novel sampling methods for the analysis of mycotoxins and the combination with spectroscopic methods for the rapid evaluation of deoxynivalenol contamination.

A novel non-destructive sampling approach is described for the identification of food matrices contaminated with deoxynivalenol and other mycotoxins. This technique is different from currently applied sampling procedures for this purpose and is based on the principle that surface material from the tested goods is collected on a filter and brought to chemical or spectroscopic analysis. This approach has been applied to several matrices and mycotoxins, with a focus on those mycotoxin-matrix combinations that are of main relevance due to current or future legislation. Tests were carried out with a facility that has been shown to be suitable to process large quantities of materials at points of transaction, such as harbour. Further experiments with a small sampling lance prototype showed that analytical results from the chemical analysis of the tested goods can be correlated with the results obtained with this novel sampling procedure.