Testing Services
Is Your Mycotoxin Testing Program Ready for Harvest?
September 10 2026
SHARE
The Trilogy blog is a source for analytical articles, news and important company updates. Stay current on trending mycotoxins topics and risk mitigation strategies.
Five questions to help your operation prepare for incoming corn, increased testing demands, and unexpected mycotoxin results this harvest.
As the corn harvest moves north across the U.S., mycotoxin testing becomes an increasingly important part of quality and risk management. Whether your organization relies on third-party laboratory testing, follows an in-house screening program, or uses a combination of both, having a plan in place before harvest can help take some of the uncertainty out of managing mycotoxin risk during the busy season. Identifying potential mycotoxin issues early can help prevent them from becoming costly problems downstream.
A successful testing program involves more than selecting a screening tool, in-house test method or testing partner. Sampling procedures, testing supplies, quality control, laboratory support, and plans for responding to unexpected results all play a role in a well-rounded mycotoxin risk-management strategy.
Before harvest season hits its peak, here are five questions to consider when evaluating your mycotoxin testing program.
1. Do you know what you're testing for?
A good testing strategy begins with understanding which mycotoxins are relevant to your operation and how regional growing conditions may influence mycotoxin risk.
Mycotoxin testing needs can vary based on the corn’s source and intended use, growing conditions, customer quality specifications, regulatory requirements, and your organization’s internal quality standards. Depending on these factors, a testing program may target a single mycotoxin or multiple mycotoxins, including, but not limited to, aflatoxin, fumonisin, DON (vomitoxin), and zearalenone.
Before harvest, review your current testing plan and make sure it reflects the risks and requirements relevant to the corn moving through your operation.
Ask yourself: Does our current testing plan address the mycotoxins that matter to our operation?
2. Are your sampling procedures ready?
Reliable mycotoxin testing starts before a sample ever reaches an instrument or laboratory. Proper grain sampling is a critical part of any testing plan, but even well-established procedures can be overlooked or gradually become inconsistent over time.
Mycotoxins may not be distributed uniformly throughout a load or lot of grain, making representative sampling an important part of the testing process. Sampling procedures, sample size, preparation, grinding, and homogenization will all influence the quality of the sample ultimately being tested. Without well-established sampling procedures that are consistently followed, even during periods of peak grain intake, the value of all the testing that follows can be compromised. This holds true whether your testing program relies on rapid screening tools or laboratory analytical methods.
For facilities receiving multiple loads throughout the day, consistent sampling procedures are especially important when test results may influence acceptance or rejection, grain segregation, storage, or end-product processing decisions. Proper sampling also supports fair decisions for the producer delivering the grain. When a sample does not accurately represent the load as a whole, the consequences can include unnecessary rejection or price deductions for the producer as well as disruptions to the receiving facility’s grain supply. Before harvest volume increases, review your sampling procedures and make sure employees responsible for collecting and preparing samples understand and consistently follow your established process.
Ask yourself: Are we consistently collecting and preparing samples that adequately represent the material we're testing?
3. Is your on-site testing program ready for harvest?
For organizations performing mycotoxin screening on-site, harvest can put added stress on both personnel and testing resources.
On-site screening can help facilities make timely decisions about incoming corn, identify loads that may require additional evaluation or confirmatory testing, and help prevent potential mycotoxin concerns from becoming problems later on.
Before harvest, take inventory of the materials your testing program depends on. This may include test kits, extraction and dilution solutions, pipette tips, filters, sample containers, sample cleanup tools, quality control materials, and other routine testing consumables.
Equipment readiness and employee training should also be considered. If an instrument requires maintenance or employees need additional training, identifying those needs before peak testing begins can help prevent unnecessary interruptions.
Ask yourself: Do we have the supplies, equipment, quality-control materials, procedures, and trained personnel needed for harvest?
4. Do you know when laboratory testing is needed?
Rapid in-house screening and third-party analytical laboratory testing serve different but important roles within a mycotoxin testing program.
Routine on-site screening can provide the rapid results needed to make timely operational decisions, while third-party laboratory testing may be appropriate when confirmation, lower detection levels, accredited testing, or analysis beyond the capabilities of an in-house method is needed.
Maintaining an in-house testing program also comes with its own unique challenges. Equipment, test kits, quality control materials, consumables, and ongoing employee training can represent a significant investment. Maintaining trained personnel can be challenging during periods of high employee turnover or peak testing demand. Supply chain disruptions or limited availability of test kits and other critical consumables can also affect an operation’s ability to maintain a consistent testing schedule.
For many operations, an effective mycotoxin risk management approach doesn’t have to mean choosing one method over the other. A well-planned mycotoxin management program can use rapid screening and third-party laboratory testing together, taking advantage of the speed and convenience of on-site screening while maintaining a relationship with a trusted analytical laboratory when additional testing or confirmation is needed.
The important part is establishing those expectations ahead of time. Your team should understand when routine screening is sufficient for your organization’s purposes and when a sample should be submitted to a laboratory for additional testing.
Ask yourself: Do we have clearly defined circumstances for when a sample should be sent to a third-party laboratory?
5. Do you have a plan for unexpected results?
Receiving a mycotoxin result is only one part of the process. Your organization also needs to know what happens next with those results.
Before harvest, establish procedures for results that fall outside expectations or require additional investigation.
Depending on your organization's procedures and the situation, an unexpected result may lead to retesting, resampling, third-party laboratory confirmation, holding or segregating a load, or determining whether the corn is appropriate for its intended use.
It is also important to establish how your organization will handle results that fall near an established action or acceptance threshold. Borderline results can create uncertainty, particularly when decisions need to be made quickly. Having a predetermined plan for when to retest, resample, seek laboratory confirmation, or take other action can help ensure these results are handled consistently.
Establishing these procedures before harvest helps take the guesswork out of difficult decisions when time and the movement of grain matter most.
Ask yourself: Does our team know what to do when a result requires further investigation?
Preparing for Harvest Is About Having a Plan
There is no single mycotoxin testing strategy that fits every organization. Some operations rely primarily on third-party laboratory testing, while others perform routine screening on-site. Many use a combination of the two. What's important is having a defined and consistent strategy that supports the decisions your operation needs to make as corn moves through the supply chain.
How Trilogy Can Support Your Mycotoxin Testing Program
Trilogy Analytical Laboratory supports mycotoxin quality programs through a combination of laboratory testing services, testing support products, and expert consulting.
From accredited mycotoxin testing and analytical standards to quality-control materials, method troubleshooting, and training, our goal is to help organizations develop testing programs that meet their individual needs.
Prepare your mycotoxin testing program for harvest.
