World Grain - November 2017 - 55

FEATURE: MILLERS AWAIT ADVANCEMENTS IN CONTROLLING PATHOGENS

the driving force," Morantes said. "Every food manufacturing facility that
needs to manage the risk of microbial
contamination requires a preventative
control in their food safety plan. Our
aim, what I tell our development group
and product managers, is that we need
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The ebeam technology was successfully introduced for microbial reduction
in spices by Germany-based Kundig
earlier this year.
"This process is based on the use of
lamps producing low energy electron
beams," the company said. "The prototype
that is in operation since the second quarter
of 2017 has a capacity of one ton per hour."
While successful in the spice industry,
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larger volumes to be processed.
"We are working on scaling up of the
technology," Morantes said. "The estimated cost of operation is going to be lower
than other technologies available today."
There is not yet a set date for the release of ebeam on a commercial basis in
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COLD PLASMA TREATMENT
BEING TESTED
Use of cold plasma technology in the
food industry also isn't a new concept,
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break new ground. The potential for cold
SODVPDWRFRVWH൵HFWLYHO\UHGXFHFRQWDPination and extend shelf life of products,
especially meat and produce, was demonstrated several years ago even if it isn't
widely used yet.
³&ROGSODVPDKDVSURYHQUHDOO\GL൶FXOW
to scale up (for commercial use)," Morantes said.
But that's what Labuza and George Annor, PhD, a General Mills' endowed professor in cereal chemistry and technology, also
at the University of Minnesota, hope to suc-

cessfully achieve in the near future. Labuza
said a scale-up test using the cold plasma
method may be "only months away."
Plasma is considered the fourth state of
matter after solid, liquid and gas. It's created by applying a spark between several
electrodes that causes a reaction with oxygen and nitrogen to form free radicals that
in chilled air then alter the DNA and protein of microbes, Labuza said. The process
occurs under dry conditions, which allows
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milling process as possible.
"We should be up and running in a couple of months," Labuza said, adding that it
would be six to eight months "at least" before a commercial product could be tested.
A considerable amount of testing rePDLQVWREHGRQHWRFROOHFWVX൶FLHQWGDWD
on the cold plasma process, Labuza said.
Work had been slowed by a lack of equipment and adequate funding.
"Eventually, we have to verify that any
system is giving a 5-log or 6-log sample
kill of Salmonella and E. coli over a range
of water activity," he said.
There is a major inherent risk associated
with scaling up cold plasma to a commercial level, including the potential of a dust
explosion.
"You have to have it in an enclosed
environment with a lot of grounding,"
Labuza said.
NEED FOR SAFETY
CONTINUES TO GROW
AIB's Rogers also noted there is some
"excitement" around current research
about reducing microbial content in the
tempering process prior to the milling of
grain.
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KRZPXFKÀRXUZKHDWDQGRWKHUJUDLQVLV
treated for microbial reduction, most in the
industry say it is a very small percentage of
total production. Cost, scalability and impairment of baking functionality have been

www.World-Grain.com / World Grain / November 2017

key factors discouraging treatment on a
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is considered a raw ingredient in which a
"kill" step generally occurs before it reaches the consumer has limited the need.
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raw ingredient heightens the need for safety as contamination can occur at any step
from farm to baker or other food manufacturer to consumer. Flour millers have
little if any control at the beginning (in the
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ÀRXU³F\FOH´EXWWKH\VWLOODUHUHVSRQVLEOH
for the safety of their products. To that
end, the North American Millers' Association and the Canadian National Millers
Association in early September released a
new educational video with the intent of
eliminating the safety risk associated with
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"From farm to kitchen, the entire wheat
industry is committed to best practices for
food safety, and this simple and easy-touse video is designed to help consumers
understand and apply proper handling
and baking procedures so they can safely
enjoy their favorite baked goods," said
James A. McCarthy, president and chief
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Rogers indicated interest in treatment
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concern about the two most recent contamination occurrences calmed down.
But she noted that microbial reduction remains very important for certain high-risk
products such as infant food, refrigerated
doughs and inclusions (such as cookie
dough in ice cream). She concurred that
the new FSMA rules have raised the bar.
"Bakers need to prove their product has
a validated kill step," she said
Ron Sterk is a senior editor for Milling & Baking
News, sister publication of World Grain. He may
be reached at rsterk@sosland.com.
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World Grain - November 2017

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