Milling & Baking News - December 6, 2005 - 21

M I L L I N G

T E C H N O L O G Y

New fumingants vie for
marketplace foothold
DAVIS, CALIF. - With part of the
planned phase-out of methyl bromide
scheduled to begin in little less than
a month, companies have stepped up
efforts to find suitable alternatives to
the fumigant.
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and California Department of Pesticide Registration in November approved
the registration by AgraQuest, Inc. of a
new natural fumigant based on the novel
fungus Muscodor albus. According to AgraQuest, products based on M. albus have
the potential to replace methyl bromide.
M. albus produces gaseous (volatile) substances that safely and effectively control
plant and human pathogens, insects and
nematodes, AgraQuest officials said.
Gary Strobel, a professor at Montana
State University, discovered M. albus
during an expedition in the rainforests
of Central America. In 2002, Dr. Strobel's
work on M. albus was selected by the editor of Science magazine as the key work in
the entire field of microbiology.
AgraQuest received grants from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the commercialization of M. albus
and is perfecting the formulation and
delivery of the products for commercial
use. The company expects to launch
post-harvest and soil fumigant products
in 2006 and 2007.
AgraQuest said M. albus has exhibited
"excellent" results in field trials for both
pre-plant uses and post-harvest prevention and eradication of molds and rots.
It also has proven effective in controlling
Indian Meal Moth, a major pest in granaries and flour mills. The biofumigant

also is being developed for fumigation of
greenhouse soil to control diseases that
attack plant roots.
Additional uses for the biofumigant
include controlling or eradicating foodborne pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli,
and Listeria; controlling molds in grain;
and for the treatment of molds in buildings. AgraQuest has a collaboration with
a major construction company to develop
M. albus for the prevention and control of
molds in buildings and other structures.
"The gaseous compounds in M. albus
provide an entirely new approach to replacing methyl bromide and other highly
toxic, environmentally damaging fumigant chemicals," said Jonathan Margolis,
Ph.D., vice-president of research and development at AgraQuest. "Its registration
validates AgraQuest's focus on creating
innovative, scientifically-based products
that are effective, novel and safe for workers and the environment."
Another company that has been actively
pursuing alternatives to methyl bromide is
Dow AgroSciences L.L.C., Indianapolis.
In early November, the company said
that 48 states have registered the new
food processing product label for ProFume gas fumigant, a product developed
and manufactured by Dow for postharvest control of insect and rodent pests
infesting cereal grains, dried fruit and
tree nuts in mills, processing plants, storage facilities and transportation vehicles
for these commodities. Registrations are
pending in California and New York.
The new label complements the milling label currently accepted for use in
most states, including California. The

A&B Ingredients expands product line with
introduction of rice flours
FAIRFIELD, N.J. - Food developers seeking
to create foods that will withstand low pH and
multiple freeze-thaw cycles may choose from
four rice flour types thanks to several recent
product introductions from A&B Ingredients.
According to A&B Ingredients, rice flours
serve well for ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, infant cereals, sauces, soups, gravies,
crisped rice for candies, snacks, granola,
waffle and pancake mixes, french fry coatings and as an extender in powdered
cheeses and sugars. Also, the use of rice
flour rather than wheat flour enables a food
company to print "gluten-free" on the label
if no other products with gluten are used.
A&B Ingredients offers four types of
rice flour: Remyflo R, Remyflo S, Remyflo
C 200 and Remyflo RO 200 T.
22 / Milling & Baking News, December 6, 2005

Remyflo R is a regular rice flour available
with different mesh sizes, different starting
gel points, heat treated or not and enzyme
deactivated or not.
Remyflo S, a special rice flour, is made

states' registrations of the new label
mean that more market segments will be
able to use ProFume for control of stored
product pests.
Developed by Dow AgroSciences in
response to industry requests for help
in meeting pest control needs, ProFume
may now be used for food processing
facilities, pet food facilities, warehouses,
shipping containers and more.
"The new label has opened doors
across the country for more millers and
food processors to start using ProFume,"
said Drew Ratterman, marketing specialist, Dow AgroSciences. "These
important state registrations came just
in time for millers and processors to
incorporate ProFume into their existing
fumigation schedules for 2005."
In addition to mills from California to
Virginia, the first jobs performed under
the new label included a pet food facility, a pasta mill and one of the world's
largest bakeries.
"These millers and processors were
able to experience the effective, reliable
control of stored product pests as well as
the unprecedented flexibility that ProFume gas fumigant brings to the table
through the use of Precision Fumigation
tools and techniques," the company
said. "By creating a unique fumigation
blueprint for each job, it is possible to
customize the fumigation process to alleviate some of the downtime issues traditionally associated with fumigation."
The new label - with an expanded list
of uses - was accepted by the E.P.A. on
July 15. Benefits of ProFume gas fumigant include its effectiveness, the fact that
it does not form off-odors or flavors and
that it does not deplete the ozone layer.
ProFume is available from trained, professional fumigators. MBN

from waxy rice and is ideal for frozen
products with a lower pH, or food products that require a lower starting gel point,
A&B Ingredients said.
For foods marketed as whole grain,
A&B Ingredients offers Remyflo C 200,
a fine brown rice flour, rich in vitamins
and fiber. Even with the fiber, this flour's
flavor is nearly bland with only the
slightest hint of brown rice flavor, A&B
Ingredients said.
For food developers focusing on preparing organic foods. Remyflo RO 200 T,
a fine organic rice flour, has been certified
by Ecocert, a European group. It performs
its inspection and certification services in
some 70 countries outside the E.U., on all
continents. Ecocert offers certification for
the American organic N.O.P. standard and
the Japanese organic J.A.S. standard as well
as for European companies, too. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - December 6, 2005

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