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Corn Export Cargo Quality Report 2017/2018

Contents

  1. Export Cargo Quality Highlights
  2. Introduction
  3. Grade Factors
  4. Quality Test Results
  5. Moisture
  6. Chemical Composition
  7. Physical Factors
  8. Stress Cracks
  9. 100- Kernel Weight
  10. Kernel Volume
  11. Kernel True Density
  12. Whole Kernels
  13. Horneous (Hard) Endosperm
  14. Mycotoxins
  15. Assessing the Presence of Aflatoxins and Deoxynivalenol (DON)
  16. Background: Mycotoxins General
  17. Background: Aflatoxins
  18. Background: Deoxynivalenol (DON) or Vomitoxin
  19. U.S. Corn Export System
  20. U.S. Corn Export Flow
  21. Impact of The Corn Market Channel on Quality
  22. U.S. Government Inspection and Grading
  23. Survey & Statistical Analysis Methods
  24. Survey Design & Sampling
  25. Statistical Analysis
  26. Testing Analysis Methods
  27. Grade Factors
  28. Moisture
  29. Chemical Composition
  30. Physical Factors
  31. Mycotoxins
  32. U.S. Corn Grades & Conversions
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Mycotoxins

Official aflatoxin results are provided by FGIS for this 2017/2018 Export Cargo Report. For the aflatoxin testing, a sample of at least 10 pounds of shelled corn is used according to FGIS official procedures. The 10-pound sample is ground using a FGIS-approved grinder. Following the grinding stage, two 500-gram ground portions are removed from the 10-pound comminuted sample using a riffle divider. From one of the 500-gram ground portions, a 50-gram test portion is randomly selected for testing. After adding the proper extraction solvent to the 50-gram test portion, aflatoxins are quantified. The following FGIS-approved quantitative test kits may have been used: Charm Sciences, Inc. ROSA® FAST, WET-S3 or WET-S5 Aflatoxin Quantitative Tests; EnviroLogix, Inc. QuickTox™ Kit for QuickScan Aflatoxin Flex AQ 309 BG or QuickScan Aflatoxin Flex; Neogen Corporation Reveal Q+ MAX for Aflatoxin, Reveal Q+ for Aflatoxin, Reveal Q+ for Aflatoxin Green (AccuScan Gold) or Veratox® Aflatoxin Quantitative Test (8030 or 8035); R-Biopharm, Inc. RIDASCREEN® FAST Aflatoxin ECO; Romer Labs, Inc. FluoroQuant Afla, FluoroQuant Afla IAC or AgraStrip Total Aflatoxin Quantitative Test WATEX; or VICAM AflaTest™, or Afla-V AQUA.

For the DON testing, the FGIS-approved EnviroLogix QuickTox™/QuickScan method is used. A minimum of a 1,000-gram sample of shelled corn (obtained by dividing the original sample) is ground to a particle size which would pass through a No. 20 wire mesh sieve and divided down to a 50-gram test portion using a Romer Model 2A sampling mill. The 50-gram test portion is then processed as the FGIS DON (Vomitoxin) Handbook requires. DON is extracted with distilled water (5:1), and the extract is tested using the EnviroLogix AQ 254 BG test kits. The DON is quantified by the QuickScan system.

The EnviroLogix quantitative test kits report specific concentration levels of the mycotoxin if the concentration level exceeds a specific level called a “Limit of Detection” (LOD). The LOD is defined as the lowest concentration level that can be measured with an analytical method that is statistically different from measuring an analytical blank (absence of a mycotoxin). The LOD will vary among different types of mycotoxins, test kits and commodity combinations. The LOD for the EnviroLogix AQ 254 BG is 0.3 parts per million (ppm) for DON.

A letter of performance has been issued by FGIS for the quantification of DON using the EnviroLogix AQ 254 BG kit.