Industry Needs: Milling Quality 2006 American Oat Workers’ Conference Fargo, North Dakota

Presentation Outline Industry Needs: 2006 American Oat Workers’ Conference Fargo, North Dakota Standard Specifications Physical Characteristics Health Aspects Various Areas Interest Oat Milling Quality Issues

General Raw Oat Specifications Test Weight – 38-42lbs/bu ( g/0.5l) Moisture – % max Heated - 0.1% max Damaged – 2-4% max (green, frozen, sprouted, mildewed) Wild Oats, Wheat, Barley – 1-2% max Ergot, Sclerotia – Trace-10/500g Total Damaged & Foreign Material – 2-4% max (ie % Sound) Dehulled – 6-8% max Thin Seed – 5-10% max (through 5/64 x 3/4 slot sieve)

Variety Recommendations Approved AC Ronald AC Pinnacle AC Medallion AC Assiniboia AC Preakness RielTriple Crown DerbyCalibre CDC Boyer Jerry Prohibited CDC Pacer AC Juniper AC Mustang AC Marie CascadeJasper WhitestoneValley

Desired Physical Characteristics Ease of hulling Decrease hull percentage Increase groat strength Large plump groats – decrease thins & stubs Reduce trichome hairs Improve flake strength – reduce fines

Health Aspects: Whole Oat Health Claim “Oatmeal helps reduce/remove cholesterol” – 3 grams of soluble fiber daily from oatmeal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease – the food needs to contain at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber from oats per serving of the food to use claim

Whole Oat Health Claim Requirements Minimum 4% Beta Glucan (dwb) Minimum 10% Dietary Fiber (dwb) Product also has to be considered low fat to make claim – 3g or less per serving – oats should not exceed 9% fat (dwb). Year to year growing conditions and variety – can make this difficult to meet.

Milling for Health Increase B-glucan, and total dietary fiber levels Decrease fat levels and increase fat stability Further work on antioxidants/phenolic acids Develop processes that concentrate desirable components Continue research on processes to reduce undesirable components such as fungal metabolites and bacteria (strict low level contamination – baby food).

Other Areas of Interest Reduce need for inputs (fertilizers & pesticides) – organic market, contamination, maintain oats healthy image – GMO path dangerous Sensory Issues - light golden colored groats – no discoloration – ventral crease blackening – mild toast/bland oat flavor – continue developing sensory analysis techniques Innovative Food Development – use oats in a variety of products - maintain desirable flavor, texture, & visual characteristics. Milling Efficiencies/Economics - cleaning, dehull, conditioning, sizing, cutting, flour, bran, flaking, handling and packaging Continue developing tests for grading and controlling processing steps that provide useful and timely info/results

Closing Thoughts Food processors are continuously developing new products that require unique ingredient characteristics at an economical cost. As oat millers we are continually changing processes and sourcing oat varieties that will best suit the application. Research related to industry needs is critical if we want oats to continue to grow as an important healthy food/ingredient choice.