Miller Magazine Issue: 134 February 2021

41 COVER STORY MILLER / february 2021 Quality control is among the main activities of millers. In a mill, protein, moisture and ash are the most common parameters mea- sured for the composition of flour. Why is quality control important for the milling industry? What laboratory and quality control do bring companies in? Miller understanding of product requirement such as damaged starch, ash content, granulation is so important to achieve final product specification which meets customer requirement. For much of the world, grains provide a substantial portion of protein intake. Bread, pasta, biscuits, cake, noodles and pastries are made from wheat flour. The nature and the concentration of the protein in the flour are major determinants of the dough making and baking characteristics of the finished food. The type and variety of the wheat used to produce flour determine the application for the flour. Protein in wheat is a major quality parameter that determines the strength of the dough and thereby the application of the flour. Starch and water content also affect the application of the flour. As such measurement of these and other parameters in wheat and flour are very important to the milling industry. Comprehensive quality control in a mill can be defined as a three- step process. The first step is analyzing the composition of the sam- ple. The second step consists of knowing how the different compo- nents behave together. It corresponds to the rheological analyses, knowing how flour behaves when combined with water and how the resulting dough behaves during mixing and processing. The third is to understand why dough behaves the way it does. There are many recent developments and useful tools that help millers optimize grain purchasing, milling, and ensure that their cus- tomers receive a flour of consistent quality capable of making good finished products. A lot of methods are available on the market for controlling flour quality. It is important to use appropriate standard methods and procedures in the flour quality testing laboratory. Quality control is a significant part of the flour milling industry. It has indispensable importance in sustaining quality consis- tency and building trust in a brand. To assure continued satisfaction from cus- tomers, millers must understand what quality is. The millers need to control both raw materials and manufacture to produce a good flour baking quality and continuous uniformity. Managing consistent flour quality