Commercial use of rapid mycotoxin test kits: significance and potential harmonisation issues

A key requirement of any food safety management system is the process of demonstrating its continuous effectiveness (verification). Increasingly, rapid test methods are being used by food businesses as a tool to assist them in this process. This includes management of hazards presented by mycotoxins. These compounds provide a significant challenge to both food processors and regulatory agencies, since they are usually present in the raw material on receipt and subsequent process steps have only limited efficiency in effecting their removal. Within the commercial environment it is critical for those purchasing raw materials to satisfy themselves that any delivery meets regulatory and specification requirements. Decisions to accept or reject deliveries usually need to be taken within short time periods (minutes rather than hours). This requires the use of rapid and - at the same time - reliable analytical methodology; furthermore, the methods need to be of minimal complexity. Within the European Union (EU), analytical methods to determine mycotoxin levels for regulatory purposes must fulfil to certain performance criteria. This principle also holds true for rapid test kits. Current activities within the EU-funded project MoniQA have identified a number of areas in relation to the use of rapid test kits which need to be addressed. These include the criteria which determine robustness of such kits, operator competence and the issues relating to the fate of the rejected lots. Given the diverse stakeholder (e.g. regulator, food business and consumer) interest in the data generated from rapid test kits, a harmonised rationale for their use and also the actions taken upon the results obtained, is desirable.