Toxic mold aflatoxin found in Iowa and S.Dakota corn

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2007-10-16T171957Z_01_N1668583_RTRUKOC_0_US-CORN-AFLATOXIN.xml

Toxic mold aflatoxin found in Iowa and S.Dakota corn

Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:21 PM ET

By Lisa Shumaker

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Farmers in northwestern Iowa and southeastern South Dakota have found aflatoxin, a mold that can cause cancer in humans if consumed in large amounts, in their recently harvested corn, said a researcher at Iowa State University and a county extension agent on Tuesday.

With several parts of the Midwest having gone through a scorching summer, more farmers in the Corn Belt may find aflatoxin, said Don White, professor of crop sciences at the University of Illinois.

"We've had the environment for it," he said. "I would think there are going to be scattered pockets."

Farmers in southeast Nebraska found a few loads of corn in three counties with aflatoxin in late September, with no new cases reported lately, said Tamra Jackson, plant pathologist at the University of Nebraska.

The extension office in Plymouth County, Iowa, has received 20 to 25 reports from farmers, with levels mostly between 20 and 100 parts per billion. The highest level found was 600 parts per billion, said Joel DeJong, extension field agronomist.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits aflatoxin for food or animal feed to 20 parts per billion. Countries importing U.S. corn often demand even lower limits.

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[TwilightGardener]

1. Conditions have to be right for it. Last year was not a problem for aflatoxin in SE Nebraska--

This year hasn't been real bad for it yet (spotty), but harvest is still in full swing.