BfR | Annual Report 2013
52
impairments are improbable. Short-term consumption
of only medium amounts of rye bread with an ergot al-
kaloid concentration of 585 µg/kg may possibly lead to
undesirable health effects. This also applies to short-term
consumption of products made of rye flour with ergot
alkaloid concentrations of 1,000 and 2,300 µg/kg. Due
to the known uterus-contracting effect of certain ergot
alkaloids, the BfR also considers pregnant women as a
highly sensitive risk group with regard to the consumption
of highly contaminated grain products.
In order to minimise the ergot alkaloid concentrations in
rye products, the BfR recommends strict application of
agricultural and technological good manufacturing prac-
tice. The focus should be on the efforts of all actors in the
industry along the entire value added chain in the choice
of seeds, the cultivation technique and the selection of
raw materials through to the technological processing of
the rye. The BMEL has had suitable recommendations for
action drawn up by experts from associations, institutions
and companies, and these recommendations have been
published on the website of the BMEL.
i
BfR Opinion No. 024/2013 on the case-based assessment
of ergot alkaloid concentrations (in German):
www.bfr.bund.de > Publications > Opinions
Health effects of ergot alkaloids
Today, assessment of the health risk focuses on ef-
fects that may occur after consumption of only small
amounts of ergot alkaloids: these are gastrointesti-
nal diseases, cardiovascular problems, headaches,
central nervous system dysfunctions and muscle
contractions. Human data also shows that contrac-
tions of the uterus are also possible following the in-
take of only small amounts of certain ergot alkaloids.
Under certain circumstances, these contractions can
result in uterine bleeding and miscarriage. The ef-
fects of the intake of high amounts of ergot alkaloids
on human health are well established. They include
circulatory disorders, hallucinations, cramps and
sensation disorders as well as paralysis, which may
occur within a short space of time and can result in
death in the event of respiratory failure or cardiac
arrest. However, these kinds of epidemic no longer
occur today in the countries of the European Union.
Under control: unusual harm scenarios in
the feed and food sector
What if terrorists contaminated feed or food with danger-
ous microorganisms or toxins? What information, verifica-
tion systems and tools or methods would the authorities
and companies need in the event of such an attack? The
BfR-coordinated research project “Ensuring the safety of
the food and feed supply chain in case of damage re-
sulting from bio or agro terrorism attacks (SiLeBAT)” has
been addressing these questions since the project was
launched in October 2010 and has developed a number
of solutions. The project was financed with contributions
from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
within the framework of German security research.
Even if feed and food in Germany are more secure than
ever before, existing legal requirements and diverse
checks of manufacturers, traders and authorities cannot
provide total protection from criminal or even terrorist ac-
tivities. Solutions have therefore been developed in the
SiLeBAT project that can be used both preventatively and
in the event of an attack. The spectrum of new devel-
opments ranges from methods of sample preparation,
laboratory procedures for identifying bioterrorist patho-
gens and software tools to a knowledge database and
The ergot alkaloids contained in rye can also be contained
in flour and bakery products. Health-based guidance val-
ues were introduced for these substances in 2012.
