Cereals processing technology

2 Cereals processing technology
The main driving force in making these developments possible has been the
advent of sophisticated information based process monitoring and maintenance
programmes. With the rapid acceptance of the PC at every level of society, this
type of development is set to become more widespread.
Changes in eating habits are also driving development. Northern Europeans,
for example, now want to eat more rice, pasta and noodles. Thus the food
producers in these regions have had to develop the skills required to produce
these foods in their own environment. This is no mean feat. The development of
part baked goods in the bakery sector is a direct result of consumer demand for
convenient, fresh foods. The cereals processing industry today is as diverse as
the range of products it produces. Practically every meal produced today
contains cereals in some form, while the range of non-food applications is
increasing daily. Enormous processing challenges arise with this diversification
in products. Manufacturers need to learn new skills and develop more flexible
technologies. Consumers’ demand for choice and convenience is forcing the
development of more consumer ready products. This produces a technical
challenge, but there is a major profit motivation associated with the development
of such products, since it is a well-established fact that consumers are prepared
to pay handsomely for convenience.
Although, in recent years many advances in cereals processing have been in
relation to the application of information technologies, there is now a notable
resurgence in the development of improved mechanical and process design.
There are also other developments such as applied biotechnology. The current
debate over the ethical issues surrounding genetically modified organisms
means that this area is receiving more than its fair share of publicity and debate,
but, on a global level, such developments are clearly here to stay. Unfortunately,
the processor rarely benefits from all the technological developments that are
available because of the way many industry suppliers offer turnkey services.
Individual supply companies rarely have a monopoly on new developments and
so, unless manufacturers are aware of all the developments that are present in the
marketplace, they are unlikely to be able to maximise any benefits that
technological development can accrue. This text aims to deliver an insight into
current and emerging technologies and equipment. It seeks to assess these
developments independently and provide a basis for decisions on the suitability
of application of each development to an existing or new process. There is a mix
of contributors from both academic and industrial backgrounds. Their differing
styles of contribution demonstrate the usefulness and necessity for us all to
support both sectors of the research divide in order to maintain a healthy
industry!
The text has been written with the following classes of reader in mind:
• Raw material producers, since they must be aware of the demands and
limitations of the equipment and processes employed by downstream
processors. Taken to its extreme, such information could spur the raw
material producer into entering downstream processing in order to improve