IMPROVE THE DETECTION OF QUALITY ATTRIBUTES AND CHEMICAL AGENTS IN AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES

Objective 1 - Develop sampling plans that minimize buyers' risk (bad lots accepted) and sellers' risk (good lots rejected) when detecting quality attributes in agricultural commodities. Sampling plans will be developed to detect the following attributes in foods: aflatoxin in almonds, genetically modified (GM) proteins in grains, peanut proteins (allergens) in foods, foreign material (FM) in shelled peanuts, and TCK spores in wheat. Objective 2 - Determine the percentage of total aflatoxin in farmers' stock peanuts that is partitioned into each milled peanut category (jumbo, medium, number one, splits, oil stock, loose shelled kernels, and discolored or damaged kernels) during the shelling process. Objective 3 - Develop sampling plans for biosecurity purposes that maximize the chance of detecting various food matrices intentionally adulterated with biological and/or chemical agents.