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Analysis of institutional authors

Agusti-Fernandez, PauAuthor

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September 19, 2025
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Visible-near infrared spectroscopy and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging for the detection of T-2 and HT-2 toxins in individual oat grains

Publicated to: Food Control. 180 111676- - 2026-02-01 180(), DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2025.111676

Authors:

Teixido-Orries, I; Molino, F; Agusti-Fernandez, P; Ayibiowu, E; Croucher, D; Medina, A; Marín, S; Verheecke-Vaessen, C
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Affiliations

Cranfield Univ, Magan Ctr Appl Mycol, Cranfield MK43 0AL, England - Author
IRTA, Postharvest, Fruitctr, Lleida 25003, Spain - Author
Morning Foods Ltd, Morning Foods, Gresty Rd, Crewe CW2 6HP, Cheshire, England - Author
Univ Lleida, AGROTECNIO CERCA Ctr, Dept Food Technol Engn & Sci, Appl Mycol Unit, Av Rovira Roure 191, Lleida 25198, Spain - Author
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Abstract

Oat grains are increasingly consumed worldwide due to their health benefits, yet they are highly susceptible to contamination by Fusarium toxins, particularly T-2 and HT-2 toxins (T-2+HT-2). These toxins pose serious health risks and are unevenly distributed, with a few highly contaminated grains often driving a batch over legal safety limits. Current detection methods are destructive, slow, or inadequate for detecting contamination at the individual grain level. This study is the first to demonstrate the potential of visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) to detect T-2+HT-2 in individual oat grains nondestructively. 200 grains were scanned, and their toxin content quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Classification models were developed to identify grains exceeding both the European Union (EU) legal threshold (1250 mu g/kg) and a higher risk level (10,000 mu g/kg). Both techniques achieved high accuracy (up to 94.5 %) in identifying contaminated grains. Key wavelengths were identified (e.g., 1203, 1419, 1424 and 1476 nm in NIR; 440-455 nm in Vis), and reducing the model to 20 wavelengths preserved performance while simplifying computation. Critically, removing just 21.5 % of the most contaminated grains could reduce overall toxin levels by over 95 %. Moreover, sampling simulations revealed that analysing 30 % of grains guarantees detection of contamination above legal limits, whereas 0.5 % sampling yields only a 25-33 % detection chance. These findings highlight a feasible path for integrating spectroscopic screening into industrial oat sorting lines, improving food safety, reducing economic losses, and overcoming key limitations of conventional mycotoxin monitoring.
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Keywords

Applied mycologyCereal sortingHt-2 toxinKernelsMycotoxinsNear-infraredOatSpectroscopyT-2 toxinVis rangeWheat

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Food Control due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2026, it was in position 24/182, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Food Science & Technology.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2026-04-02:

  • WoS: 1
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-02:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 6 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
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    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United Kingdom.

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    Awards linked to the item

    This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (predoctoral grant FPU21/00073 and Project PID2020-114836RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and Cranfield University. The authors would like to thank Derek Croucher from Morning Foods for providing the contaminated oats samples for analysis.
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