postharvest / Grain producers, elevators, inspectors, laboratories, buyers, food and feed safety teams, advisers, regulators and safety professionals

Grain mycotoxin sampling and custody audit

Audit a grain mycotoxin evidence chain from lot definition through authorized incremental sampling, aggregate sample, preparation and reduction, custody, method, result, uncertainty, holds, affected descendants and disposition authority.

See the whole mission

Orient before entering the field.

Connect the intended outcomes, operating stages, stop conditions, and supporting technology concepts before opening the detailed action sequence.

Mission map / evidence-led operating view4 stages / 12 actions / 3 guardrails
harvest phaseGrain mycotoxin sampling and custody auditpostharvest
01 / destinationWhat good work should leave behind
  1. 01Define the exact grain lot and decision purpose
  2. 02Verify use of the current authorized sampling and testing procedure
  3. 03Trace every aggregation, preparation, division and custody event
  4. 04Separate analytical result from hold, release and disposition authority
02 / routeMove through the decision sequence
  1. 01Freeze lot, purpose and authority

    Official inspection, regulatory, contract, buyer, screening and investigative samples may follow different current requirements and support different conclusions.

    3 field actions ↓
  2. 02Audit representative sampling safely

    Heterogeneous contamination and unsafe grain access make sample design and worker protection central to the evidence.

    3 field actions ↓
  3. 03Trace preparation and method

    Grinding, mixing, subdivision, transfer and test-portion selection can change which material reaches the analytical method.

    3 field actions ↓
  4. 04Close result, hold and disposition

    The method result is evidence for the tested portion; regulatory, contract and food- or feed-safety authority determines what happens to the lot.

    3 field actions ↓
03 / stop gatesConditions that require local judgment
  • G01

    This guide reproduces no sampling procedure, increment count, preparation method, test parameter, threshold or disposition rule.

  • G02

    Never enter or walk on grain, bypass machinery controls or expose workers to dust or mold to obtain a sample.

  • G03

    Use current USDA, FDA, jurisdictional, buyer, contract and laboratory requirements and qualified inspectors and safety professionals.

04 / system contextTechnology concepts beside the practice
This map organizes the published guide; it does not authorize work or replace competent local agronomic, safety, legal, environmental, welfare, equipment, or label requirements.
Field workflow / select one stage01 of 04 / Freeze lot, purpose and authority
Why this stage matters

Freeze lot, purpose and authority

Official inspection, regulatory, contract, buyer, screening and investigative samples may follow different current requirements and support different conclusions.

  1. 01Record commodity, physical lot boundaries, quantity, storage or flow state, origin and history, ownership, destination and descendant lots
  2. 02Record sampling and test purpose, controlling authority, current procedure and version, qualified sampler, laboratory or approved test site, contract and decision owner
  3. 03Place the lot on the required hold or control status before sampling when the applicable program requires it
Follow the stages in order, then return to earlier observations whenever field conditions, crop response, safety requirements, or local guidance change the decision.

Continue through the operation

See where this field guide fits.

Move beyond one task into the complete evidence, technology, operating, and review sequence around it.

LEARNING ROUTE BRIDGE / THIS NODE IN MOTION
2CONNECTED ROUTES1019STEP POSITIONS38ROUTE SOURCE LINKS
Operating practice

Follow grain from harvest through governed storage

Move from harvest context through lot identity, drying, aeration, stored-grain monitoring, inventory reconciliation, representative mycotoxin sampling, holds and governed disposition without issuing dryer settings, storage limits or food and feed safety conclusions.

CURRENT POSITION10
10 / GOVERN

Audit sampling, hold and disposition

Trace authorized sampling and testing through custody, uncertainty, descendants, notifications and final authority.

Open the complete route ↗
Routes are editorial learning sequences, not implementation orders, product rankings, or field prescriptions. Select a route to see how this field guide connects to the decisions around it.

Primary learning sources.

01
MycotoxinsU.S. Food and Drug Administration · Accessed 2026-08-11
02
Mycotoxin HandbookUSDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Federal Grain Inspection Service · Accessed 2026-08-11
03
Grain Inspection Handbook — Book I: SamplingUSDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Federal Grain Inspection Service · Accessed 2026-08-11