Key Programs and Services
The Wheat Marketing Center (WMC) is one of the technical crossroads of the international wheat industry, providing technical training and grower workshops, innovative research, product development, and crop quality testing services. WMC focuses on promoting U.S. wheat by demonstrating its quality and functionality in Asian noodles, crackers and biscuits, tortillas and flatbread, and other baked products. Pilot scale production lines (pictured above), state-of-the-art quality testing equipment, and rich technical expertise provide great value to our state wheat commission partners, wheat industry stakeholders, and millers and food manufacturers around the world.
This Week: May 3-9
This week USW and strategic marketing firm 502 will be developing pre-recorded segments for the Contracting for Wheat Value Workshop for USW/China. Scheduled for June 16-18, the format will include both recorded lectures and demonstrations and live sessions with traders and WMC technical staff. The team will be recording segments in WMC’s analytical lab (with demonstrations of several tests) and bake lab, focusing on product development of pan bread and cake. Beyond this project, work will continue on several research projects, both public and proprietary.
Wheat Innovation Lab Videos
Learn more about the pilot production lines in the Wheat Innovation Lab by clicking here.
News and Updates
> Announcements
> Recent Articles
-
Quality and textural analysis of noodles enriched with apple pomace
-
Evaluation of aleurone flour on dough, textural, and nutritional properties of instant fried noodles
-
Flowability, wet agglomeration, and pasta processing properties of whole‐durum flour: Effect of direct single‐pass and multiple‐pass reconstituted milling systems
-
The structural evolution of water and gluten in refined and whole grain breads: A study of soft and hard wheat breads from postmixing to final product
> WMC Download Center
Person of the Month: May 2021
This month we check in with WMC’s newest employee, Food Scientist Dr. Andrew Mense. On the job for six weeks, we asked Andrew for his reflections on his new position. “The opportunity to work on so many end products has been very enjoyable,” said Andrew. “The diversity of products, including cakes, tortillas, noodles, bread, and crackers, has been great.” Since his arrival, Andrew has been involved in diverse research projects focused on testing end product quality and new ingredient functionality. He is taking the lead on completing the chlorinated cake flour alternatives project, which is funded by the Pacific Northwest wheat commissions. Most of his educational and work experience has been in hard wheat, so working with soft wheat has been a learning opportunity. “Overall,” Andrew commented, “the pace has been even busier than expected.”
On the personal side, Andrew recounted how he and his wife Bekah made the cross-country trip from Boston in a car with their dog, cat and various household items. Bekah will be working as an emergency veterinarian and they are expecting their first child this summer. In the meantime, they are enjoying the spring weather and exploring Portland and environs.
For more information on Andrew’s background, click here.
STAY CONNECTED
2021 YTD Activity at Wheat Marketing Center
AS OF APRIL 2021