This project is designed to obtain representative data on the occurrence, within the Member States of the European Union, of the six most prominent ergot alkaloids (ergometrine, ergotamine, ergosine, ergocristine, ergokryptine and ergocornine) in rye and wheat samples intended for human consumption and animal feeding. It is the intention to study carefully the variability of the ergot alkaloid patterns in order to identify a marker(s) that could be used as indicator(s) of ergot contamination in food and feed.