Ensuring the quality and safety of cereals is of great importance to the relevant supply chains, as many cereal quality parameters have a direct influence on functionality and processing behaviour. Our members demonstrated the clear need to focus on this area of work, as they voted (once again) for our ‘cereal methods’ project to be part of this year’s programme.
For over 20 years this project has developed and maintained industry-agreed methods to measure and therefore control the quality and safety of cereal-based ingredients and products. It will continue to do this by investigating new instrumentation and test methods to assess the physical characteristics of grains and related ingredients, including their functionality. The project will also develop and evaluate methods to assess end-product quality.
The approaches it will take to achieve this include:
• investigating new tests relevant to the industry and updating existing procedures
• broadening engagement with all parts of the cereal industry
• continuing to issue the monthly ‘Grain Quality and Safety Bulletin’, and
• maintaining and implementing methods to assess end-use suitability against target specifications.
