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Submitted to: American Association of Cereal Chemists Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 8/24/2006 Publication Date: 9/20/2006 Citation: Delwiche, S.R. 2006. Optical properties of mold-damaged free-falling single kernel wheat at the millisecond level [abstract]. American Association of Cereal Chemists Meeting. Available: http://www.aaccnet.org/meetings/2006/abstracts/O-84.htm. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: In the United States, the authority to regulate mycotoxins, inclusive of deoxynivalenol (DON), a by-product of the fungal disease Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), is codified in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which places authority with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Certain mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin, a recognized carcinogen, are regulated through action levels, which can then necessitate official testing for the mycotoxin and can result in the condemnation of grain lots in excess of the action level. Other mycotoxins, including DON, are not regulated by FDA, per se, but instead are voluntarily controlled under the guidelines of advisory levels. Depending on the intended use (i.e., human food or animal feed), the advisory level for DON in the United States ranges from 1 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg. Our previous research has demonstrated a sorting efficiency of approximately 50 percent (reduction of Fusarium-damaged kernels) with existing high-speed equipment, but a much higher efficiency (~95%), but much slower throughput rate, when analytical spectrometers are used. The intention of the current work is to bridge this efficiency gap. The current study describes the use of three forms of optical measurement of single wheat kernels for FHB for eventual incorporation in high-speed optical sorters. Several wheat lines, each with 100 normal and 100 Fusarium-damaged kernels, are scanned with an analytical spectrometer, passed through a commercial sorter, and observed by a fiber optic and filter assembly with high frequency silicon detector. Knowledge gained from analysis of the latter two forms will provide design criteria for improvement of high-speed optical sorters for recognition of mold-damaged wheat. |
