Post by Wageningen Food & Biobased Research

🌾🌡️ Together with the milling and baking industry, we have explored three thermal processing technologies to decontaminate wheat flour and grains while maintaining baking performance. Let's dive into the SAFFYRE project! 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 Our researchers evaluated three thermal processing technologies: 1. Vacuum steam 2. Microwave 3. Radio frequency 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 We used a unifying concept: heat load. A metric derived from temperature–time profiles that enables direct comparison across different technologies. This allows processors to focus on finding the sweet spot between safety and functionality. 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 The findings from this project have several important implications for food manufacturers, millers, and ingredient suppliers: • Heat load provides a powerful tool for process design and validation, enabling cross-technology comparison and optimisation • A target heat load window can guide industrial processes to balance safety and quality • Vacuum steam is currently the most effective and reliable technology for flour decontamination • Low-temperature processing strategies are viable and advantageous, reducing quality loss while maintaining safety • Flour treatment may be more efficient than grain treatment, particularly when aiming for high microbial reduction Ultimately, this study shows that microbial safety and product quality do not have to be competing objectives. Especially when mild processing conditions and the right operational window are identified. ➡️ Want to dive further into the results? Read this article by our experts Stefano Renzetti, Joanne Siccama, Rian Timmermans and Masja Nierop in Vakblad Voedingsindustrie - Dutch food industry: https://lnkd.in/dxvDXWVc