Food and animal feed have their own limits, their own categories and, from 2027, a new feed standard. Here is how to read them side by side.
A lot of wheat with 1,000 µg/kg DON complies as unprocessed cereals for the food chain. The same lot may contain up to 8 mg/kg as feed materials, and from 1 July 2027 up to 4 mg/kg. For pig feed, 0.9 mg/kg applies, soon 0.7. Four figures for one lot, and none of them is wrong.
Regulation (EU) 2023/915 has replaced the old contaminants regulation since 2023. Section 1 of Annex I contains mycotoxins, with a maximum level for each product category. For cereals, four concepts are decisive: unprocessed cereals destined for first-stage processing, products for the final consumer, milling fractions, and the bakery and breakfast cereals category.
First-stage processing means any physical or thermal treatment other than drying; cleaning and colour sorting are not considered first-stage processing as long as the grain remains intact. Products containing at least 80% cereal fall under the cereal rules. For sum parameters — aflatoxins, fumonisins and T-2/HT-2 — the lower-bound approach applies: values below the limit of quantification count as zero.
| Category | DON | ZEN | T-2/HT-2 | OTA | AFB1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unprocessed cereals, general | 1 000 | 100 | 50 | 5,0 | 2,0 |
| Unprocessed durum wheat and maize | 1 500 | 350 (maize) | 100 | 5,0 | 2,0 |
| Unprocessed oats with husk | 1 750 | 100 | 1 250 | 5,0 | 2,0 |
| Cereals for the final consumer | 750 | 75 | 20 | 3,0 | 2,0 |
| Milling fractions, non-maize | 600 | 75 | 20 | 3,0 | 2,0 |
| Bakery, snacks, breakfast cereals | 400 | 50 | 20 | 2,0 | 2,0 |
In addition, aflatoxin B1 has a maximum level of 5.0 µg/kg for maize and rice to be sorted or physically treated before final market placement, with 10.0 µg/kg for total aflatoxins.
In feed, only aflatoxin B1 is laid down as binding, in Annex I to Directive 2002/32/EC: 0.02 mg/kg for feed materials, 0.01 mg/kg for compound feed and 0.005 mg/kg for dairy cattle, calves, dairy sheep, dairy goats, piglets and young poultry. For DON, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, fumonisin and T-2/HT-2, guidance values from Recommendation 2006/576/EC apply. These are not binding, but an exceedance does not automatically make the feed safe: Article 15 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 prohibits unsafe feed, and Article 4 of Regulation (EC) 767/2009 requires sound feed.
| Toxin | Feed materials | Compound feed | From 1 July 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aflatoxin B1 | 0,02 | 0.01 (0.005 dairy cattle) | Unchanged |
| DON | 8 (maize 12) | 5 (pigs 0.9) | 4 (maize 8); pigs 0.7 |
| Zearalenone | 2 (maize 3) | 0.5 cattle; 0.1 piglet | 1 (maize 2); cattle 0.5; piglet 0.1 |
| Ochratoxin A | 0,25 | 0.05 pigs; 0.1 poultry | 0.05; pigs 0.01 |
| Fumonisin | 60 (maize) | 5 horses; 50 ruminants | 20 maize; 40 maize products |
| T-2/HT-2 | cats only 0.05 | none | 0.2 cereals; 1.5 oats |
The right-hand column follows Recommendation (EU) 2026/1801. For maize, sorghum, soya and sunflower, the new value applies from 1 October 2027.
The difference lies in the protected group. Food standards protect the consumer and apply to the product as it is placed on the market. Feed standards protect the animal and vary by species, because a pig is simply more sensitive to DON than a cow. A lot of wheat with 1,200 µg/kg DON is therefore legally compliant for the flour milling industry, but unsuitable as a feed material for pig feed.
Recommendation (EU) 2026/1801 replaces both 2006/576/EC and the old T-2/HT-2 recommendation as of 1 July 2027. The change is the largest in twenty years. The feed material guidance value for DON in cereals decreases from 8 to 4 mg/kg, that for ochratoxin A from 0.25 to 0.05 mg/kg, and for fumonisins in maize from 60 to 20 mg/kg grain and 40 mg/kg maize products. T-2/HT-2 receives feed values for the first time, with 1.5 mg/kg for oats with husk. Also new is the expectation that suppliers of feed materials provide their customers with sufficient information on mycotoxin levels.
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