The Peanut & Mycotoxin Innovation Lab has produced another installment in a series of infographics focused on the nutritional value of peanut and how to control one of the biggest contaminants that can ruin crops: aflatoxin.
The latest graphic – Detecting Mycotoxins – stresses that proper sampling is the key to finding an accurate level of any mycotoxin, including aflatoxin, which can plague peanut, maize and other crops.
Taking several small samples randomly from a large lot is important, the graphic stresses, and could have the greatest impact on whether test results are accurate. Improper sampling accounts for 85 percent of the error in mycotoxin test results, according to research.
Inaccurate test results can lead good lots of peanuts or grain to be rejected, while lots with harmful levels of mycotoxin might get to consumers.
The graphic is available on the PMIL website in English and will soon be available in other languages. Contact the management team at ftfpmil@uga.edu to request a particular language.
The other two graphics also are available in more than a dozen languages and dialects.
One Handful, the first in the series, explains how a hearty portion of peanuts delivers a healthy serving of protein and can offer numerous health benefits.
Controlling Aflatoxin relays some of the basic interventions proven by research that farmers can use to discourage the development of aflatoxin-causing mold.