Project Overview
Information Products
Commodities
- Agronomic: rye, wheat
Practices
- Crop Production: food processing
Abstract:
The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), caused by Fusarium Head Blight, is a barrier to North-Central Region (NCR) grain production. Farmers testify to, and state survey data shows, frequent DON contamination above FDA advisory levels for human food. We built a team with the Artisan Grain Collaborative (AGC) to assist the rising number of small and mid-size grain grower and miller stakeholders across our region with managing food safety issues in a cost-effective manner, particularly in situations in which they already have high DON in grain at harvest.
We explored distilling, an understudied option, as a high-value alternative use for DON-contaminated rye and wheat. With cooperation from NCR farmers, we procured rye and wheat samples that had tested high for DON, conducted distillation, and traced DON segregates by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit. This work took place in the University of Illinois Food Science & Human Nutrition Pilot Processing Plant (IBRL) using their distillation and other equipment.
The results showed that distilled liquor from DON-contaminated rye and wheat contains very low DON levels at most. From a food safety perspective, considering DON-contaminated grain as an ingredient for distilled spirits appears viable. The outcomes of this research are important for NCR farmers because, collectively, this work assists growers in overcoming a major food safety barrier to high-value rye and wheat production and opens a new potential market for wheat.
Project objectives:
Learning outcomes
We showed the distilling flow diagram and parameters to farmers and distillers. This introduced the distilling work to those who might not be familiar with distilling. In addition, we shared the data with AGC stakeholders through a poster. We hope we can help small grain growers reduce their concerns about the risks of growing and processing small grains for food-grade markets. We expect growers to be more confident in producing small grains. The distillers could have a conception about where DON goes during processing, and better understand if and how to prepare for working with grain that has above 1ppm DON.
Action outcomes
One clear outcome is the ability of the University of Illinois IBRL-AGC partnership to provide clear and accurate guidance to farmers, millers, and distillers about whether DON-contaminated grain can be safely used in distillation, thus impacting farmer, miller, and distiller decision-making in selling and using these grains.