Guide to Wheat Flour Testing

1250 I Street, N.W., Suite 1003, Washington, D.C., 20005-3922

Award-Winning Guide to Wheat and Flour Testing Methods Now Available

WASHINGTON A new award-winning guide designed to inform domestic and foreign wheat buyers, flour millers and others about wheat and flour testing methods and their correlation to flour and end-product quality now is available for purchase.

A major goal of the publication is to provide information on wheat and flour quality tests used by the wheat industry worldwide to promote orderly marketing, according to the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA). The publication was developed by the Wheat Marketing Center Inc., Portland, Ore., with the assistance and financial support of NAEGA, utilizing funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Market Access Program. The publication is being distributed to the U.S. grain handling, flour milling and grain exporting industry by the National Grain and Feed Association, which is co-located and has a joint operating and services agreement with NAEGA.
"We are very pleased with the methods guide, and encourage that it be broadly used as an education and reference tool," said NAEGA President Gary C. Martin. "The publication already has proven successful in achieving our goal to increase the understanding of the value of U.S. wheat by international wheat buyers and US sellers."
The 71-page book provides an introduction to the analysis of wheat and flour, and is divided into two major sections.

Section 1 provides basic information on standardized testing procedures used to determine wheat and flour quality characteristics, as well as dough properties. Basic information is provided on methods for chemical testing (to determine moisture, ash and protein content, as well as falling numbers); physical testing (to determine flour color analysis and the single-kernel characterization system specified by wheat processors); and laboratory milling tests (to determine the milling performance of wheat).

For each test, the guide provides information on the testing method, how results are determined, and the importance of the quality characteristics determined through the test. This section of the publication also explains how the test results apply to processing performance and end-product quality. Additional information is provided on tests used to evaluate dough and gluten strength properties.
Section 2 of the publication provides an overview of laboratory product tests for a variety of wheat products used in different parts of the world. Formulas and processing steps are described, and finished-product attributes are presented. The finished-product formulations and processes described are laboratory-testing protocols that are used to evaluate flour quality. The product tests included in this section are for pan bread, hearth bread, flat bread, Asian steamed bread, sugar snap cookies, sponge cake, extruded pasta and Asian sheeted noodles. The formulations and processes described are model systems that may be used to predict commercial production for common uses of wheat flour worldwide.

The publication received the Distinguished Award the highest award category from the Society for Technical Communication, besting entries submitted from high-tech companies, hospitals and many other organizations. The book has been entered in the society's international competition, which is awarded in May.

Ordering the Book: Copies of the publication, entitled "Wheat and Flour Testing MethodsA Guide to Understanding Wheat and Flour Quality" are available for $13 each for one to nine copies, or $10 each for 10 or more (to recover printing and postage costs). Order by credit card by contacting Tammy Elliot at the NGFA at telliott@ngfa.org or by calling her at 202-289-0873. Or, mail payment in advance to: Wheat and Flour Testing Methods Guide, National Grain and Feed Association, 1250 I St., N.W., Suite 1003, Washington, D.C., 20005. Make checks payable to "National Grain and Feed Association." Prompt ordering is encouraged, since quantities are limited and there will be no second printing.

NAEGA, established in 1912, is a not-for-profit trade association comprised of private and publicly owned companies and farmer-owned cooperatives involved in and providing services to the bulk grain and oilseed exporting industry. NAEGA-member companies ship practically all of the bulk grains and oilseeds exported each year from the United States. The Association's mission is to promote and sustain the development of commercial export of grain and oilseed trade from the United States. NAEGA acts to accomplish this mission from offices in Washington D.C., and in markets throughout the world.

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