What do the Clean, Low, Watch and Swap levels mean?

They are cut from a continuous concern level the app computes from the sourced claims that the chosen evidence lens shows: each claim counts its concern class, tier weight, confidence and dose relevance, combined worst-first with a decay so one serious finding outweighs many small ones, then scaled by how much of the substance reaches you in this use. Clean is below 0.35, Low below 1.1, Watch below 2.0 and Swap above that, on a 0 to 3 scale.

Is Deoxynivalenol safe in food and drink?

Q: Is deoxynivalenol safe in food and drink?

Under the app's default Cautious lens, deoxynivalenol in food and drink rates Swap: the app would put this near the top of your swap plan. 4 sourced concerns count (metabolic, consensus tier; metabolic, consensus tier; irritant · allergen, consensus tier). This is research with sources, not medical advice.

Food processing1 use researched4 sourced claims

Where it turns up: mycotoxin from mold on cereals. Detox My Life researched deoxynivalenol under one use, because the same substance means something different in each use. Every claim below carries its evidence tier, how sure the research is that it applies here, and the sources it cites. The level is computed by the app's own deterministic engine, so the page says exactly what the app would.

Level by use and lens

Use	Mainstream	Cautious (default)	Based	Concerns · favour · fringe
Eaten or drunk	Swap	Swap	Swap	4 · 0

Mainstream shows consensus claims only; Cautious adds emerging research; Based adds fringe claims, labelled as such. The last column counts, under Cautious, the sourced concerns, the findings in its favour and the fringe claims Based would add.

Safer swaps: the app's swap catalog covers the products this turns up in: Sugary cereal. Alternatives are always types, never brands.

Eaten or drunk Swap

Under the default Cautious lens deoxynivalenol in food and drink rates Swap: the app would put this near the top of your swap plan. Mainstream (consensus only) rates it Swap; Based (adds the fringe) rates it Swap. Researched 2026-09-03.

Sourced concerns (4)

ConsensusMetabolicconfidence 100%

Ingestion of deoxynivalenol (DON) can cause acute symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, and fever. At extremely high doses, it can lead to circulatory shock and death.

Why here: DON commonly contaminates cereal grains and derived food products, which are widely consumed, and it is stable during food processing and cooking.
What would have to be true: Acute effects can occur at doses as low as 0.05 to 0.1 mg/kg body weight (bw) in sensitive animals like swine and dogs, with epidemiological studies suggesting similar emetic effects in humans. The acute reference dose (ARfD) for humans is 8 µg/kg bw per eating occasion for DON and its acetylated derivatives.

Sources the engine cites:

Deoxynivalenol and its toxicity - PMC — nih.gov (2014) · regulator or public body
Deoxynivalenol: Toxicology and Potential Effects on Humans - PubMed — nih.gov (2005) · regulator or public body
Advances in Deoxynivalenol Toxicity Mechanisms: The Brain as a Target - PMC — nih.gov (2018) · regulator or public body
1 web article (food-safety.com), linked in the app.

ConsensusMetabolicconfidence 100%

Chronic ingestion of deoxynivalenol (DON) can lead to anorexia, reduced weight gain, altered nutritional efficiency, and immunotoxicity (both enhancement and suppression). Animal studies also suggest reproductive issues like reduced litter size.

Why here: DON is a common contaminant in cereal-based foods, leading to potential long-term dietary exposure, and it is stable during food processing.
What would have to be true: The tolerable daily intake (TDI) for DON and its acetylated and modified forms is 1 µg/kg body weight (bw) per day. Estimated mean chronic dietary exposures have been found to exceed this TDI in infants, toddlers, and other children, and at high exposures also in adolescents and adults, indicating a potential health concern.

Sources the engine cites:

Deoxynivalenol: Toxicology and Potential Effects on Humans - PubMed — nih.gov (2005) · regulator or public body
Advances in Deoxynivalenol Toxicity Mechanisms: The Brain as a Target - PMC — nih.gov (2018) · regulator or public body
2 web articles (psu.edu, food-safety.com), linked in the app.

ConsensusIrritant · allergenconfidence 100%

Ingestion of deoxynivalenol (DON) can negatively impact intestinal function, leading to impaired nutrient absorption, decreased cell proliferation, and histological damage to intestinal epithelial cells.

Why here: The intestine is the first barrier to food contaminants, and intestinal epithelial cells can be exposed to high concentrations of DON following ingestion of contaminated food.
What would have to be true: This effect is observed in animal studies at various concentrations, and EFSA considers these effects in animal health risk assessments. Human exposure occurs through contaminated cereal products.

Sources the engine cites:

Assessment of information as regards the toxicity of deoxynivalenol for horses and poultry — nih.gov (2023) · regulator or public body

EmergingSuspected carcinogenconfidence 80%

Ingestion of deoxynivalenol (DON) can lead to genotoxicity in human lymphocytes, potentially causing DNA damage through oxidative stress.

Why here: DON is ingested through contaminated food, and its metabolites can interact with human cells.
What would have to be true: This effect has been observed in in vitro studies with human lymphocytes.
The other side: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies toxins derived from Fusarium graminearum, F. culmorum, and F. crookwellense (which include DON) as Group 3, meaning "not classifiable as to their carcinogenicity to humans," due to insufficient evidence in humans and animals for carcinogenicity.

Sources the engine cites:

Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone—Synergistic or Antagonistic Agri-Food Chain Co-Contaminants? - PMC — nih.gov (2021) · regulator or public body
List of Classifications – IARC Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans — who.int (2026) · regulator or public body
1 web article (psu.edu), linked in the app.

Not researched here

The engine has no dossier for deoxynivalenol when cooked with heat, in cold food, as a finishing ingredient, in heated food packaging or other uses. The app researches an ingredient for the use it infers from your product, so a scan fills these in; this page only shows what has already been researched and source-verified.

This is research, not medical advice. Detox My Life shows sourced claims sorted by evidence tier. It does not diagnose, treat, or tell you to start or stop anything. Talk to a qualified professional about your health.

Scan your own. The app reads any product label with your camera, works out how you are about to use it, and researches every ingredient for that use with live sources. Every scan adds to a Detox Score for your home, where 50 is a typical home in your region, and a plan of next swaps.

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