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Microbiological profile and food safety risk of wheat flour

C. HALL (1), F. A. Manthey (1), C. Wolf-Hall (1), A. Vegi (1)
(1) North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, U.S.A.
Cereal Foods World 56:A8
http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/CPLEX-2011-1008-04W

The objective of this presentation is to provide a review of the microbial and food safety issues associated with wheat and wheat flour. The microbial profiles and associated chemical hazards will be covered. Specific information will include the aerobic plate count, mold and yeast counts, internal mold infection, and microbial pathogens data of wheat. Microbial data from wheat surveys conducted in North America, Australia, and Turkey will be presented as a means to demonstrate the environmental effects on microbial counts. Microbial data from a 20-year time period will be presented. Mycotoxins and masked mycotoxins will be defined and information from a durum wheat survey will be presented. Variability of microbial and mycotoxin data exists in the literature. The aerobic plate counts in wheat and flour ranged from 2 to 9 log cfu/g and 1 to 6 log cfu/g, respectively. Mold and yeast counts of 1 to 5 log cfu/g and 1 to 6 log cfu/g have been reported on wheat, respectively. In general, the mold and yeast counts drop to less than 3 log cfu/g after wheat milling into flour. Salmonella spp. was not detected while Bacillus and E. coli were detected at very low levels (less than log 1 cfu/g). Deoxynivalenol was the predominant (nondetected to 23 µg/g) mycotoxin present in durum wheat. Semolina and flours contained less than 9.5 µg/g deoxynivalenol. The data presented will provide grain handlers, ingredient suppliers, and food manufactures with information that will serve as a basis for developing microbial specifications.