2024-741 Monitoring of Contaminants in UK cereals

Food security and safety remains a priority issue for UK agriculture.

There is need for continued investment in this work, as ensuring the safety and quality of the major UK cereals for human consumption and animal feed remains a top priority for the agricultural industry.

Continued monitoring of contaminants in cereals across the supply chain is essential in order to provide scientific evidence and assure the cereal industry their products are safe, and of good quality, for use in the domestic and export markets.

The data generated by previous phases of the project has been used to inform discussions on new legislation and growing demands on supply, as well as be a vital source to demonstrate due diligence.

AHDB is looking for a contractor to undertake the new phase of this project over the next 2 years, with the potential to extend for a further 3 years in 12-month increments (1 August 2025 to 31 July 2030).

The main purpose of this project is to provide an independent survey of the incidence and levels of key contaminants in representative samples of UK-grown cereals (wheat, barley and oats) and co-products (wheatfeed and oatfeed), to ensure they meet legal compliance guideline limits and are safe for human consumption and animal feed.

The project will also monitor current and emerging legislation and contaminant issues which could impact on the safety of cereal-based foods and their acceptability in key home and overseas markets.