Criteria of Determination of Safe Grain Storage Time – A Review

Therefore it can be stated that grain starts deteriorating from the time of harvest, due to in‐ teractions between the physical, chemical and biological variables within the environment (Mason et al., 1997). Cereal grains just after being harvested contain microbial contamination coming from several sources, such as dust, water, ill plants, insects, solid, fertilisers and ani‐ mal feces. Bacteria found in grains mainly belong to the families Pseudomonadaceae, Micrococ‐ caceae, Lactobacillaceae and Bacillaceae, and moulds are mostly Alternaria, Fusarium, Helminthosorium and Cladosporium, although other genus can also be present. The microbial composition of the cereals is of great importance for the storage of grains, since at high mois‐ ture levels the microorganisms could grow and alter the properties of product (Laca et al., 2006). Grain deterioration is also related to respiration of the grain itself and of the accompa‐ nying microorganisms. The evolution of carbon dioxide, water and heat is associated with this respiration or deterioration (Steele et al., 1969).