In 2024, the occurrence of ergot sclerotia in cereals is higher than in the year before, as shown by the current interim report on the MRI's special harvest and quality assessment. This highlights the importance of measures to reduce the occurrence of ergot and contamination with ergot alkaloids at all stages of grain production. The recommendations for action, which have been developed under the direction of the Institute for Safety and Quality in Cereals at the MRI, are still valid. The document has now been updated using new EU limits.
The EU defines maximum contents for certain contaminants in food. The current regulation 2024/1808 of July 1st, 2024 provides lower limits for ergot and ergot alkaloids in cereals in order to further reduce health risks for consumers. Some of these lower limits will apply on a later date because the occurrence of ergot sclerotia in cereals varies greatly from year to year due to climatic conditions. So, lower maximum contents are not yet achievable for certain products.
The limit for ergot sclerotia in rye grains will be reduced from 0.5 g/kg to 0.2 g/kg as of July 1st, 2025. A limit of 0.2 g/kg already applies to all other types of grain, except for corn and rice.
For milled products from wheat (less than 0.9 percent ash content), the maximum content of ergot alkaloids will be halved from 100 to 50 micrograms per kilogram (µg/kg) on July 1st, 2028. On this date, the limit for milled products from rye will also be halved from 500 µg/kg to 250 µg/kg.
All other items of the previous EU regulation (2023/915) remain unchanged. For example, a value of 150 µg/kg is still permitted for ergot alkaloids in milled products with ash contents above 0.9 percent. This limit applies to milled products from barley, spelt, wheat and oats as well as to the grains of these cereals (for human consumption).
In order to not exceed the limits today and in the future, it is important to follow the recommended measures at all stages of grain production: from cultivation to processing. In doing so, the occurrence of ergot and contamination with ergot alkaloids can be effectively reduced.
The updated document is available for download:
• Recommendations for action to minimize ergot and ergot alkaloids in cereal (accessible pdf file)
