Findings from the COCERAL Study: Mycotoxin Profiles Are Changing: Co-Contaminations Are Becoming a New Challenge

The European grain industry is facing a shift in how it manages mycotoxins. The latest COCERAL Mycotoxins Management Survey 2025 shows that not only are the levels of individual toxins changing, but so is the overall mycotoxin profile of grain lots. In particular, the combination of multiple toxins (co-contaminations) is receiving greater attention.

The study is based on a survey of European market participants and represents approximately 86 million metric tons of traded grain. A key finding: 93% of the companies surveyed conduct regular mycotoxin testing. The most important crops monitored are corn, wheat, and barley.

From Single Risks to Multiple Contaminations

While individual key parameters such as DON, zearalenone, or aflatoxin B1 were previously the main focus, today’s situation presents a much more complex picture. Multiple mycotoxins are increasingly being detected simultaneously in a single batch.

Typical combinations include:

• DON + zearalenone
• DON + T-2/HT-2 toxins
• Multiple Fusarium toxins occurring simultaneously

This development makes risk assessment more challenging, as it is no longer sufficient to consider individual maximum limits alone. Increasingly, the overall contamination profile of a batch is becoming the decisive factor.

Climate Change Is Reshaping the Risk Landscape

The COCERAL survey shows that climate change is considered one of the most important drivers of future mycotoxin risks.

Particularly highlighted are:

• Aflatoxin B1: Higher temperatures and drought stress promote the spread of aflatoxin-producing fungi. A risk that has so far been mainly associated with warmer regions and imported commodities could become increasingly relevant in Europe in the future.
• Fusarium toxins: DON, zearalenone, and T-2/HT-2 toxins remain key challenges, particularly in wheat and maize. Weather extremes during crop development and harvest can further promote their formation.
• Ergot: Respondents also consider the risk posed by ergot to be increasingly relevant. Changing weather conditions and longer flowering periods may favor infection and could mean that not only rye but also other cereal crops become more affected in the future.

Growing Requirements Across the Grain Supply Chain

The industry expects stricter requirements to result in:

• more frequent controls and analyses,
• higher demands for traceability,
• additional costs due to separate storage and commodity management,
• an increasing risk of batches becoming unsuitable for marketing.

The key finding from the current COCERAL study:

• Mycotoxin risk is changing not only due to higher individual toxin levels, but also due to increasingly complex contamination patterns.
• The future of mycotoxin management therefore lies in a holistic approach: moving away from the sole control of individual toxin limits toward the assessment of complete mycotoxin profiles and their potential combinations.
• For trading, storage, and processing, this means that early and integrated risk management is becoming an increasingly critical factor for quality assurance and supply security.

Analytical Solutions for Changing Mycotoxin Profiles

The results of the COCERAL study demonstrate that assessing individual mycotoxins alone will often no longer be sufficient in the future. As the importance of co-contaminations continues to grow, so does the need for analytical solutions capable of detecting multiple relevant mycotoxins simultaneously and providing a more comprehensive picture of contamination.

This is exactly where SAFIA’s multiplex assays come into play. They enable the parallel detection of selected mycotoxins in a single analysis, supporting an efficient assessment of complex mycotoxin profiles. This is particularly valuable for screening raw materials and grain batches where multiple toxins may occur simultaneously, providing a reliable basis for decision-making in quality and risk management.