Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Faster, cheaper mycotoxin test in trials


A faster, cheaper test for mycotoxins is in the works.

Art Schaafsma
Art Schaafsma of Ridgetown College has teamed up with Dr. Maria DeRosa and Dr. David Miller of Carleton University to develop the test.

If it works as well in field tests as in the lab, it will take much of the guesswork and waiting out of grain deliveries.

It uses a strip to gather sample material and ultraviolet light to show up mycotoxins if they are in the sample. The results are immediate.


That’s much better and more accurate than the current approach, which is visual inspection and, if mycotoxin is suspected, the gathering of a sample that is checked in a laboratory.