AGTEC-Org Technological Handbook of Methods

A common handbook was conceived in the CORE Organic AGTEC-Org project in order to give some elements on technological treatments and analyses which will be led in the project

New challenges to improve organic bread wheat production in Europe

The total organic area in the EU-27 had an annual average growth rate of nearly 15% from 1998 to 2006 with winter wheat being the most important cereal crop. Wheat yield in organic farming is around 30% to 70% of yield of conventional farming but higher premia for organic wheat may to some extent compensate for this. Bread wheat is grown in a variety of crop rotations and farming systems and four basic organic crop production systems have been defined. Nitrogen deficiency and weed infestation are considered to be the most serious threat in organic wheat production. Organic wheat producers will have to fulfil the technological needs of bakers although the requirements differ widely from small artisan bakers to large enterprises handling the organic bread processing. To maintain and expand organic wheat production, there is a need to control weed population, manage nitrogen nutrition and maintain crop diversity in the cropping system. In order to obtain a share in the premium price of organic wheat products, farmers may involve in further processing and marketing

AGTEC-Org Agronomy Handbook of Methods

A common handbook was conceived in the CORE Organic AGTEC-Org project in order to give some elements of field trial monitoring

A Comprehensive Study on the Influence of Sodium Chloride on the Technological Quality Parameters of Soft Wheat Dough

This study aimed at understanding how the presence or absence of NaCl influences dough rheological performance of soft wheat cvs. currently used in the Italian bread manufacturing industry as a scientific support to national health strategies to reduce the use of NaCl in bread. For this reason 176 flour samples belonging to 41 soft wheat cvs. currently cultivated in Italy, were analyzed for their protein content, Zeleny sedimentation value, and by means of the Chopin Alveograph and Brabender Farinograph, with no salt and with 1.5% salt addition (average salt content in Italian bread). Three selected cvs. (Aubusson, Bolero, and Blasco) were additionally studied by means of the Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) at three levels of salt addition (0%, 1.5% and 3.0%). The fermentation behaviour of the cvs. Aubusson and Blasco was also studied by means of a Rheofermentometer under the same conditions. The results of our study confirmed the role of salt in strengthening the wheat gluten network (up to 86%), and thus the gas retention of dough and in affecting yeast activity. However, it also definitely proved that careful cultivar selection can help in overcoming technical challenges in reduced-salt bread manufacturing and eventually, it opens the path to wheat breeding for reduced-salt bread baking

Value of Wholegrain Rice in a Healthy Human Nutrition

Rice is one of the most widely consumed cereals in the world. The husks of harvested, unprocessed rice are not digested by humans and need to be removed to obtain edible grains, whereas the bran can be partially (brown rice) or totally removed (white rice). Brown rice is a wholegrain cereal and, as such, is known to have beneficial effects on human health. Recent epidemiological studies have shown that the consumption of whole grains can reduce the risk of metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and some types of cancer. However, white rice is preferred for reasons connected to appearance, taste, palatability, ease of cooking, tradition, safety, shelf-life, and lack of awareness about its benefits and availability. In this review, the latest scientific reports regarding the nutritional composition of brown rice and the evolution of the technology for its production will be briefly reviewed together with research on nutritional implications of brown rice consumption also in relation to cancer development in humans. A specific chapter is devoted to pigmented rice which, thanks to its composition, has attracted the growing interest of consumers worldwide. The need for further studies to help promote the consumption of wholegrain rice are also discussed

Measurement of resistant starch in cooked cereal-based foods

Abstract Resistant starch, which has been defined as the sum of starch and products of starch degradation not absorbed in the small intestine of healthy individuals, is considered beneficial for health due to its effects on the human bowel and on carbohydrates and lipids metabolism. Cereals are daily consumed by the Italian population as bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, gruels, etc. Cereal-based foods (50 samples) belonging to the above categories were analysed, both raw and after cooking, by the in vitro method of McCleary and Monaghan (standard AOAC 2002.02 and AACC 32-40 methods) in order to assess their resistant starch content. Cooked potatoes and banana (raw and cooked) were used as a comparison. The cooked foods and also the bread samples were cooled at the temperature compatible with their consumption, rapidly frozen and freeze dried in order to standardize the analytical protocol. Freeze drying of cooked foods was important in achieving repeatability of measurements. Within each category of food, different amounts of resistant starch were found depending mainly on the nature of the cereals used as raw material and on other added flours (i.e. legume flours). Within all cereal-based samples values in the range 0.1-3.4% d.m. were found

Stone Milling versus Roller Milling in Soft Wheat (Part 2): Influence on Nutritional and Technological Quality of Products

Wholegrain soft wheat flours can be obtained by either roller milling or stone milling. In this paper, we report on the continuation of a study aimed at analysing compositional and technological differences between differently milled wholegrain flours. Eight mixes of soft wheat grains were stone milled and roller milled and the milling products analysed for their phytic acid, lipids composition to determine the presence of trans-fatty acids and damaged starch. A wholegrain flour milled with a laboratory disk mill was also analysed as comparison, as well as seven wholegrain flours purchased on the market. For phytic acid we found that that there is no compositional difference between a stone milled or a roller milled flour if the milling streams are all recombined: the milling streams instead have different amounts of phytic acid which is mainly present in the fine bran and coarse bran. It was not possible to highlight differences in the milling technology due to the presence of trans-fatty acids in the stone milled wholegrain flour whereas it was possible to find that starch damage depended on the milling method with stone milled wholegrain flours having in all cases significantly higher values than the roller milled ones

Lipids and Fatty Acids in Italian Durum Wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) Cultivars

The level of variation in lipids and their fatty acids was determined in the grains of 10 popular durum wheat cultivars commercially grown in Central and Southern Italy. Samples were harvested for two consecutive years to account for differences due to changes in climatic conditions. Total fat content was determined by means of the International Association of Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) Standard Method No. 136, whereas the fatty acid profile was determined by gas chromatography. Total lipid content ranged from 2.97% to 3.54% dry basis (d.b.) in the year 2010 and from 3.10% to 3.50% d.b. in the year 2011, and the average value was 3.22% d.b. considering both years together. Six main fatty acids were detected in all samples in order of decreasing amounts: linoleic (C18:2) > palmitic (C16:0) ≈ oleic (C18:1) > linolenic (C18:3) > stearic (C18:0) > palmitoleic (C16:1). Significant variations in the levels of single acids between two years were observed for three samples. These results will be very useful in the updating of food composition databases in general and will help authorities to set proper quality standards for wholegrain flours and products where the germ should be preserved, considering also the recent interest of industry and consumers for these kinds of products

A Survey of Sodium Chloride Content in Italian Artisanal and Industrial Bread

A nationwide survey on salt content in both artisanal and industrial bread was undertaken in Italy to establish a baseline for salt reduction initiatives. Excess sodium intake in the diet is associated with high blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Bread has been identified as a major contributor to salt intake in the Italian diet. Most of the bread consumed in Italy comes from artisanal bakeries so 135 artisanal bread were sampled in 56 locations from Northern to Southern Italy together with 19 samples of industrial bread representative of the entire Italian production. Sodium chloride content was analysed according to the Volhardt’s method. A salt content between 0.7% and 2.3% g/100 g (as is basis) was found, with a mean value of 1.5% (Standard Deviation, 0.3). However, the majority of samples (58%) had a content below 1.5%, with 12% having a very low salt content (between 0.5% and 1.0%), whereas the remaining 42% had a salt content higher than the mean value with a very high salt content (>2.0%) recorded for 3% of samples. As regards the industrial bread, an average content of 1.6% was found (SD, 0.3). In this group, most of the samples (56%) had a very high content between 2.0% and 2.5%, whereas 5% only had a content between 1.1% and 1.5%. Statistics on salt content are also reported for the different categories of bread

Polyphenols in Raw and Cooked Cereals/Pseudocereals/Legume Pasta and Couscous

Pasta and couscous are popular foods manufactured (in their traditional form) from durum wheat semolina. In recent years, the consumers’ quest for novel, functional, gluten-free, wholegrain foods has prompted the industry to manufacture new pasta and couscous products in which durum wheat has been partially or totally replaced by other vegetable flours. Besides dietary fibre, these raw materials might be an interesting source of phytochemicals. In this work, 16 commercial samples of pasta and four samples of couscous representative of the new products and made of refined and wholegrain flours of different species of cereals, pseudocereals and legumes were analysed for free, hydrolysable bound and total polyphenol content by means of the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure. Analyses were repeated on cooked samples to assess the quantity of polyphenols ingested by the consumers. The raw legume and pseudocereal products had a total polyphenol content higher than most cereal products (up to 1743.4 mg of Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE) per 100 g dry weight). Wholegrain products had higher contents than refined products. The free fraction underwent up to 46% loss with cooking, probably because of solubility in water. The water absorption of pasta and couscous during cooking was in a ratio of 2:3, resulting in higher dilution of polyphenols in the cooked couscous