(Food-Beverage-News.Com, June 06, 2020 ) The global mycotoxin testing market is estimated to be valued at USD 858 million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 1,157 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 6.1%. The demand for mycotoxin testing is significantly increasing due to factors such as growing recalls and border rejections with growth in the international food trade, stringent regulations across various countries and changing climatic conditions. The high cost associated with the installation of technologies inhibits the growth of the mycotoxin testing market. The European region is projected to account for the largest market, owing to the growing prevalence of Fusarium toxins due to changing climatic conditions, coupled with the strengthening of the feed and food mycotoxin testing policies by the contributed efforts of Control Laboratories (CLs), National reference laboratories (NLRs), and EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs).
The mycotoxin testing market, on the basis of type, is segmented into aflatoxin, ochratoxins, fumonisins, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, trichothecenes, patulin, and others. The deoxynivalenol segment is faster-growing due to the growing prevalence of the deoxynivalenol toxin, leading to foodborne illnesses among consumers. Hence, the European and North American regions are stringently regulating the presence of it in food crops and products. It is most commonly found in grains such as wheat, oat, and barley.
What challenges arise due to Inappropriate sample collection & standardization?
The food testing process has multiple stages, namely, raw material growing, procurement, processing, packaging, storage, and the supply chain. The exact number of samples required to be collected during testing is not yet standardized. Food and feed manufacturing or growing companies also face challenges in determining the appropriate sample size as this sample represents all the possible products in the food manufacturing value chain in sufficient quantity. Larger sample size would increase the chances of positive results. The testing laboratories do not receive a sufficient number of samples each time from their clients. This can be attributed to their customers’ lack of awareness about the quantity required for mycotoxin testing.
Launch of advanced technologies for detecting mycotoxins
Traditional technologies include traditional visual inspection and culturing methods. The traditional culturing technologies consume more amount of time to produce results, as the time required for mycotoxin testing is crucial for the quality of food. Thus, testing laboratories are looking for a shift from conventional mycotoxin testing methods to rapid testing ones, which are efficient to generate results within a few hours. Due to the reliability of test results offered by chromatography- & spectroscopy-based technologies, ELISA technology is projected to disrupt in the coming decade. Rapid testing methods such as chromatography and spectroscopy techniques are used to ensure timely analysis of a larger sample size, and thereby offering market growth opportunities in order to reduce the time for mycotoxin testing.
Implementation of stringent regulations related to mycotoxin detection driving the market growth
Various government and regulatory bodies across the world have made testing of animal feed and food ingredients mandatory. The regulatory authorities do not approve animal feed for marketing, unless its safety and efficacy are proven. Such measures to prevent potential threats of contamination, chemicals, and toxic presence have been affecting the growth of the mycotoxin testing market greatly. To protect human and animal health, many countries have enacted specific regulations for mycotoxins in food and animal feed. Currently, more than 100 countries have formal mycotoxin regulations for food and feed. The mycotoxin regulations are the most stringent in the EU, where various organizations and pan-European networks contribute to combat the problems related to mycotoxin.
In May 2006, in Kenya, an outbreak of acute aflatoxicosis was reported, where aflatoxin contamination of homegrown corn has been a recurrent problem. CDC teams worked with the Kenyan Ministry of Health for the trial of a rapid, portable aflatoxin screening tool that could be used in the field to identify contaminated corn and guide urgent corn replacement efforts during an outbreak.
The recent outbreaks and product recalls have resulted in new rules and regulations for animal feed products. In the US, FDA’s program called the Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS) has been designed for testing animal feed to protect animal and human health. There is also a growing awareness in developing countries to implement testing procedures as most of the meat products are being imported from European countries. Also, the majority of feed ingredients are produced and exported from the developing countries such as China and India. The EU has been urging its member countries to adopt uniform regulations across the region to ensure quality and safety of animal feed produced.
