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Challenging the different aspects of protein and quality measurement along the wheat to bread chain
A. DUBAT (1) (1) Chopin Technologies, Villeneuve la Garenne, France.

Cereal technology aims to provide the final consumer with products satisfying different palates and organoleptic requirements. Each link of the wheat chain must provide the link following with adapted raw material and data. For the industry that ultimately serves the consumer, adaptation in the process or the formula is always possible (even if not desired by the baker) in order to comply with customer’s requests. But as we move downstream to the cereal field, or to the grain itself and to the breeders, we get far away from the final user and we know that many events in the process will impact the grain potential. The question then becomes ‘how to ensure customers’ needs from the beginning to the end of the chain. Literature is full of papers indicating the importance of protein. Not only the quantity but also the quality either from a conformation point of view (HMW, LMW…) but also in the manner they express their potential using empirical-rheological testing systems. Each step of the chain has specificity in terms of analytical requirements. Breeders  need very precise tools to work on large numbers of samples with very limited quantity.  Millers are not limited in sample quantity and can do a lot of testing. Wheat testing should be a dynamic process, taking into account new varieties, new crop practices and new consumers demands. Unfortunately, too often, control labs stays limited to the “do as always” law. Some specification books have been there for years and applied without questioning their adaptation to a moving and competitive world. The topic of this talk is to show how a different strategy, using new laboratory equipment or adapting the protocols, modern data treatment technologies, and based on the combination of information on protein quality, performance and overall quality would help meet final user’s requirements and optimize specification books.

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