Aflatoxin is produced by Aspergillus flavus, and it takes hold when groundnuts are harvested wet, dried slowly or stored warm. By the time a lot reaches a laboratory, the damage is already done – which is why our control chain starts long before the testing stage.
Drying discipline at the farm gate
We reject lots that arrive above 9% moisture. It is an unpopular position at the mandi, but moisture is the variable that decides everything downstream. Accepted lots go straight onto drying yards and are turned on a schedule rather than left to the weather.
Sorting out what testing cannot fix
Colour sorters remove the discoloured and shrivelled kernels that carry the highest toxin loads, and a hand-picking line catches what the machines miss. On a typical Java 50/60 lot this removes between three and six percent of intake by weight – a real cost, and the reason our quotes are not the cheapest on any given day.
Testing that means something
Every export lot is sampled to a documented plan and tested by a third-party laboratory. For EU destinations we ship to a declared maximum of 4 ppb total aflatoxin; for most other markets 10 to 15 ppb is acceptable. The certificate of analysis travels with the documents, not separately.
Packing and stuffing
Finally, the packing has to preserve the work. Jute or PP bags go into containers lined with kraft paper, with desiccant where the voyage crosses humid latitudes. Containers are inspected and photographed before sealing.
None of this is exotic. It is simply done every time, and documented – which is what separates a shipment that clears from one that sits at the port.