World Grain - September 2023 - 72

SUPPLIER NEWS
MC hands out first Flour
Innovation Awards
AHRENSBURG, GERMANY - Three winners were announced
in MC Muhlenchemie's first Flour Innovation
Awards, recognizing innovative solutions for the sustainable
use of wheat and local agricultural commodities.
An international jury of scientists and industry experts
evaluated 23 research projects from four continents in deciding
who received the award. Prize money totaling €10,000
($10,881) was divided among the three winners.
The first prize at €5,000 went to Yusuf Kewuyemi, a doctoral
student at the University of Johannesburg, for his development
of 3D-printed crackers from processed whole grain
flour made of African-grown peas and quinoa.
To raise the flour's nutritional content and improve its bioavailability,
Kewuyemi used innovative techniques like fermentation
and germination. The research shows that traditional
crops can be transformed into health-promoting foods using
innovative processing techniques.
The second prize of €3,000 went to Abdulhakim Idris of
Jimma University in Jimma, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. In his
study " Optimizing the process variables for the production of
oat compound biscuits " he looked into the optimum mix of
wheat and oat flour for making biscuits. Different parameters
were analyzed, including mixing ratio, baking time and baking
temperature, along with their influence on properties like
the weight, thickness, spread ratio and texture of the biscuits.
The results showed that a mix ratio of 15% oats to 85%
wheat, a temperature of 300°C and baking time of 3 hours,
30 minutes provide the ideal conditions for making oat/wheat
biscuits that do not differ from pure wheat biscuits in their
sensory qualities. This creates the basis for the further commercialization
of mixed oat biscuits, the development of applications
for other oat products, and the promotion of oats as
a little-used grain to fill out the annual grain deficit.
The third-place prize of €2,000 went to Saqib Arif of the
University of Karachi in Pakistan. His study looked at the potential
of composite flour from mixes of underused grains in
response to the worldwide rise in wheat prices and increasing
sustainability concerns. The results show that mixed flours
have a better nutrition profile, are rich in fiber and bioactive
compounds, and thus represent a promising possibility for
reducing dependence on wheat, although challenges remain
regarding processability and sensory characteristics.
The awards were offered for the first time on the occasion of
the 100-year anniversary of MC. They honor scientific work
around the production and processing of non-wheat flours
and their blends with wheat flour, especially those that use
local commodities.
" The research projects submitted demonstrate that composite
flour has enormous potential to make the future of our food
production sustainable, " said Dr. Lutz Popper, chairman of the
jury of the Composite Flour Science Award, and originator of
the awards. " They show that with intelligent and innovative
methods, we can reduce our dependence on wheat without
having to give up taste and quality. "
GRAIN COOLING
GRANIFRIGOR™
The most natural way of grain preservation
*
*
*
*
*
*
Protection against insects & fungi
Without chemical treatment
Short amortisation period
Low energy demand
Independent of ambient weather
No respiratory losses
Genuine for over 60 years!
72
FrigorTec GmbH * info@frigortec.com * www.frigortec.com
September 2023 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
Photo courtesy of MC
http://www.frigortec.com
World Grain - September 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - September 2023
