Sunshine State Stories

What is Wheat Quality?
Wheat quality can mean different things to different people, but it makes most sense to think about it as the quality of wheat required to produce high quality end products.
Growers look for high yields of attractive looking, high protein, well-filled grains for the best price. Millers want wheat that yields the maximum amount of white flour per tonne of grain. Millers also have to meet the flour specifications demanded by their customers, such as the required protein content, dough strength, water absorption, mixing properties and falling number. Cereal Processors require different properties depending on the product they are manufacturing (cakes, bread, noodles, pasta etc.).
Because the end-use determines the quality required, wheat totally unsuitable for one application may have excellent quality for another. For example, wheat with excellent bread making quality would be regarded as having extremely poor cake-making potential.
Maintaining Grain Quality in On-farm Grain Storage
The number of on-farm storages has grown during recent years as growers seek more flexibility at harvest, more choice as to when and how they sell their grain, and reduced handling and freight costs. Maintaining the quality of stored grain involves 2 main issues: moisture control and insect control.
The following points should be considered: Grain handling equipment such as trucks, headers, augers, combines and silos must be cleaned before/after use. Sealed silos not only keep in the gas during fumigation but they also keep out the insects. It is essential to fumigate the silo every time grain is added. Proper fumigation is impossible in unsealed silos. Painting the silo white after installation is a useful management tool as white silos can be 40C cooler than a galvanized unit.
The advantages of cooler grain temperatures are as follows. Seed germination percentage is maintained longer, moisture migration is reduced, insect breeding is reduced, and less gas is lost thorough the pressure relief valve of sealed silos.
Aeration
Aeration silos are fitted with fans that pass controlled amounts of air through the grain. Advantages of this include, lower temperatures allow moist grain to be stored safely for longer periods, even temperature of the grain mass in the silo prevents moisture migration, hot spots are prevented from developing, mould growth is slowed, and insect development is reduced dramatically. Cool stored seed retains its viability and vigour for a longer period.
Did you Know?
Grain Sampling is the most significant source of error in grain testing. Find out more about the Graintec grain vacuum sampling system.

Key Diagnostics has available test kits for the testing of food samples for gluten.  These have been developed to allow detection of this major allergen in foodstuffs or on food manufacturing equipment surfaces.

There are two types of test available, one type is to measure the exact amount of gluten in the food sample, and the other, a simpler to use test, is used to screen for the presence of gluten at 3ppm or more.

With little sample preparation and minimal test equipment, these GlutenTox gluten test kits allow food processors and manufacturers to test their equipment or food contact surfaces for the presence of gluten. This can be done before the equipment is used, or after cleaning of the surfaces has occurred. These tests are also suitable for screening incoming ingredients that could contain gluten.

The eight major allergenic foods and food groups – milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans,  account for about 90 per cent of all food allergies. Because of this, food and beverage manufacturers and processors must declare all major allergens that are contained in their products, however minute the amount.

Food products can end up containing these allergens for a variety of reasons, not the least as a result of cross contamination during the manufacturing process, and this accidental contamination could force manufacturers to recall their products, if they are not listed on the label.

Home gluten test kits are also available. These allow individuals to check foods at home, to ensure they are free from gluten.

Arrow Scientific has launched equipment for testing food samples for gluten, called GlutenTox. Researchers have developed this sensitive tester to detect this major allergen in food or on equipment surfaces. Two types of test are available, one to measure the exact quantity of gluten in a sample, and another simpler test to screen for the presence of gluten at 3ppm or more.

With minimal handling or equipment, the GlutenTox tests allow processors to test equipment or food contact surfaces for the presence of gluten, before being used or after cleaning. These tests can als be used to screen incoming ingredients for gluten.

There are eight major allergenic foods and food groups – milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans – and these account for 90 per cent of all food allergies. Food and beverage processors are required to declare all major allergens contained in their products, however small the amount. Products can end up containing allergens for a number of reasons, not least as a result of cross – contamination during manufacturing, and this can force manufacturers to recall of products if they are not listed on the label.

Home gluten test kits are also available.

Near Infrared spectroscopy has been a useful tool in agricultural laboratories for about 4 decades.  This technology non-chemically determines the composition of many of our agricultural products.  Typical applications include protein and moisture in grains, and protein, moisture and oils in oilseeds.

There are an increasing number of farmers, farmer groups and small agricultural businesses considering the viability of owning their own NIR instrument.  This paper discusses some advantages and disadvantages of owning and running an NIR instrument on the farm or in small business.

Advantages

NIR instruments can be a useful decision making tool on the farm. Also some growers are already using them successfully in the grain marketing area.  Ready access to an NIR instrument with calibrations for protein and moisture for various grains can assist with a number of decisions at harvest that are somewhat dependent on the quality of the grain.  Does the grain meet the market standards?  Which paddocks should be harvested first?  Should the grain be sold or stored?

Many growers use commercial testing facilities to obtain this crop management and grain marketing information but feel restricted by the time taken for these analyses to occur.  Some growers see an NIR instrument on the farm as a way of reducing their need to send samples off farm for testing, thus enabling them to make quicker decisions.

As an analytical tool, the NIR instruments have many advantages over traditional laboratory analysis particularly when testing large sample numbers.  These advantages include:

§  speed and versatility

§  no chemicals required

§  easy to operate and cheap to run

§  accuracy close to reference laboratory method

Disadvantages

NIR analysis is an indirect technique that requires careful calibration for each component to be measured.  For example, six calibrations are required to measure protein and moisture of wheat, barley and oats.  Although the instrument is simple to operate once calibrated, calibration development can involve complex, time consuming and costly laboratory analyses.

Each calibration needs checking by comparing the results from laboratory analysis to those obtained by the instrument.  If these differences are larger than expected and the NIR is giving inaccurate readings, the calibrations may need adjusting.

Purchasing an NIR instrument:  Things to think about:

1.   NIR instruments for use in farming systems are generally purchased with calibrations installed. The total cost for the instrument and calibrations will depend on the number of calibrations required.

2.   As NIR measurements are an indirect measuring technique, monitoring each calibration for accuracy using check samples is vital.  If the calibrations are not monitored regularly there is no way of knowing whether the readings are correct.

3.   The checking procedure will involve an annual cost.  This operating cost should be allowed for in the annual budget.

4.   Calibration accuracy varies depending on the component being measured, and the type of NIR instrument used.

5.   Some calibrations used in agricultural laboratories are developed using NIR instrumentation, which is more advanced and far more expensive than the equipment being targeted to the farmer market.  Therefore, the instrument you buy may not be capable of every application that you have heard about.  Basic NIR instruments are most useful for protein and moisture testing of most grains.

6.   For accurate measurements, this equipment should be used in a controlled environment free from large temperature fluctuations and dust.  The bench in the machinery shed is not the ideal location. Modern instruments can be operated in a vehicle.

NIR instruments can be an extremely useful long-term investment for your farm or business.  However, these instruments are not cheap so research your potential purchase well.  Know what you want it for and be sure you know exactly what you are getting.  Be prepared to spend some money on maintenance each year and seek advice if you are unsure.

Graintec Pty Ltd in Toowoomba has been involved with NIR instruments for over 20 years.  They now offer a portable; battery operated whole grain analyser for testing protein and moisture in grains.  This analyser is easy to use, completely portable, very reliable, and it displays the result in about 3 minutes.  The Sofia comes calibrated for wheat and barley and calibrations are aligned to the Foss Infratec. Remember, when testing grain, you only test a sample and therefore it is very important that the sample you test does represent the lot from which it is taken.

Graintec Pty Ltd also supplies grain and hay moisture meters, thermometers, pH meters, sieves, sampling spears, grain shakers etc.

For any advice on protein/moisture testing or sampling, please feel free to call.  Our phone number is (07) 4638 7677 or fax (07) 4638 1761.

September, 2011

Bystanders often feel helpless when they see somebody collapse or get injured, but knowing just a little about the basics could transform the chances of survival, writes Lissa Christopher.

The young marathon runner was still lying face down and showed no signs of life when Penelope Little arrived.

"As soon as I rolled him over it was very obvious … he wasn't breathing and … I could tell pretty quickly he needed CPR [cardio pulmonary resuscitation]," the NSW Ambulance spokeswoman and St John Ambulance volunteer says. There were lots of people around but no one had tried to turn him over, let alone start CPR. They'd called for help and left it at that.

"At a bare minimum they should have rolled him onto his side, into the recovery position," she says. "You should never leave someone lying face down. But this man required CPR and the fact that nobody gave it to him – it was alarming. It was like, 'come on, people!' This man is obviously unwell."

It's common for bystanders to do nothing when someone has collapsed and wait for "someone in a uniform" to turn up. Studies from the US have shown that the primary reason bystanders don't attempt CPR is fear of not doing it correctly but, as Harvard Medical School states in its public health guides, "Poor CPR is better than no CPR".

''People don't realise that the role of a bystander is actually very important," Little says. "Particularly in case of CPR. It needs to be done very soon after the person has gone into cardiac arrest. It you have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, your chance of survival is about 3 per cent and the only way you are going to survive is if somebody quickly recognises that you are in cardiac arrest, quickly does CPR and quickly calls an ambulance."

Presuming CPR requires an expert is probably the most serious first-aid misconception, but as NSW Ambulance and St John Ambulance will attest, there are plenty of others. Take fainting, for example. It's common for well-meaning people to try to get someone who has fainted to sit up. In fact, they should be left lying down. St John Ambulance deals with a lot of fainting during the Royal Easter Show, Little says, particularly among elderly visitors. It happens everywhere from the showbag pavilion to the scones ''and it's amazing how many times you get there and someone is trying to prop this woman up on a chair when all she wants to do is faint and lie back on the ground''.

"I often say to people, if a person wants to faint, let them do it. In essence, it's the body trying to fix itself, usually because there's a problem with their blood pressure."

Other scenarios where paramedics and St John Ambulance volunteers commonly encounter misapprehensions include bleeding noses, burns, poisoning, penetrating injuries, choking, diabetic coma and seizures.

People often don't realise that diabetics can lapse into a coma due to high blood sugar as well as low blood sugar, Caroline Woods, an intensive care paramedic with the Ambulance Service of NSW, says. Feeding sugar to someone who is having a high blood sugar (hyperglycemic) attack is only going to make things worse.

"We often find someone lying on the floor with all these lollies hanging out of their mouth," she says. "Someone has tried their best to help but they've got it wrong."

Little recalls attending to a seven-year-old girl having a seizure and her father had his hand in her mouth, holding onto her tongue in the mistaken belief he was stopping her from swallowing it. "I said to him, 'take your hand out of her mouth and let her have her seizure'," she says. "Never try to hold down someone who is having a seizure," Woods says. Clear them a space and put something soft under their head if possible. Don't put anything in their mouth.

It's not actually possible for someone to swallow their own tongue. People often bite their tongue during a seizure, but they're highly unlikely to bite through it so don't panic, she says.

Despite the poor odds, the marathon runner Little found lying face down did survive. Little got to him quite quickly and performed CPR for several minutes, another St John person arrived in minutes with a defibrillator and an ambulance arrived shortly after that. "He was 29 and he made a full recovery," Little says. "He was a very lucky guy."

"In my job, you often wish that a bystander had been more helpful. We are so lucky with NSW Ambulance that when you dial 000 they will give you advice over the phone but often people are hysterical or they don't listen to that advice or they hang up.

"So many times I have thought, 'please, God, I hope somebody is already doing CPR … because we are not going to be able to save this person unless somebody has started'."

St John Ambulance runs regular first-aid courses and recommends a CPR refresher every 12 months.

www.stjohnfirstaid.com.au

The Graintec HE 50 moisture meter, manufactured in Germany using calibrations derived in Australia, is now available.  Tests have shown the meter to be suitable for field use for measuring moisture in grains.

The GRAINTEC HE-50 moisture meter uses the latest microprocessor technology and was developed to replace the old and outdated valve operated MARCONI moisture meter.  The Marconi was last manufactured in the early 80's, but many of the meters still in use are over 40 years old.  A lack of spare parts has made making repairs difficult or impossible.

The HE-50 uses the same measuring principle as the Marconi, but it has a number of advantages due to the modern design.  The meter is lightweight and compact being about a third the size and weight of the old Marconi's, and it comes in an insulated carrying case.  No separate grinder is required.  The sample is ground in the measuring cell by screwing down the top of the cell.  The measurement is then made by pressing a button and takes about 10 seconds.  The digital readout reduces mistakes as it is large and clear, and there is no need to change slides, twiddle knobs or adjust for temperature, as the mini-computer within the meter does all of this automatically.

"Marconi's have been an excellent moisture meter for the grain industry for a long time, but their day is nearly over.  This new meter is much easier to use – All you have to do is press a button and it'll tell you 'WHEAT 12.2%'.  It can do 14 different commodities at the flick of a switch.  We have sold over 2000 of the Graintec HE 50 grain moisture meters in Australia to Millers, Bulk Handling Authorities, the AWB, Farmers, Grain Traders and Feedlotters".

For more information contact Lucas at Graintec Pty Ltd: Phone  07 4638 7677 or fax 07 4638 1761.

The federal Food and Drug Administration is taking a closer look at how gluten-free products are being labeled and is weighing stricter standards.

The agency has reopened the comment period, which will last through this month, for its 2007 proposal about labeling foods as “gluten-free.” One of the issues the FDA is proposing is that foods labeled as “gluten-free” can’t contain 20 parts per million or more gluten.

The agency is reexamining the issue because, back in 2007, it was difficult to scientifically validate such levels of gluten using the methods and techniques that then were available. Now, according to the agency, technology has advanced and such detections are available.

Such labels are key to people who have celiac disease, which means their bodies can’t tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Celiac disease damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food, according to the FDA.
 
“Before finalizing our gluten-free definition, we want up-to-date input from affected consumers, the food industry, and others to help assure that the label strikes the right balance,” Michael Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods, said in a statement. “We must take into account the need to protect individuals with celiac disease from adverse health consequences while ensuring that food manufacturers can meet the needs of consumers by producing a wide variety of gluten-free foods.”

Elisa Gluten Tests

Until the arrival of life conserving technological innovation such as the automatic defibrillator, into the health care world, several major medical conditions as well as health care complications had been looked upon as life-threatening. Among the most common of such problems may include cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation, and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. First presented during 1899, the defibrillator is becoming a widespread innovation that is accessible in most sectors of the healthcare community and it has ended up saving countless lives worldwide. The device was developed right after a team of Swiss psychologists found that whenever they delivered an electric shock to a puppy, they were able to produce ventricular fibrillation. Like all intelligent researchers and scientists, it didn't need a really long stretch of time for these men to learn that whenever they were to give a larger shock to the species, it actually reversed the condition. It was shortly after, when the research started with humans.

The defibrillator has become an item found in either the health care field and in the community. The product was modernized in recent times in order that it can be built meant for general public use, in an effort to supply support in the event of an unexpected emergency. Automated external defibrillators (AED) have become user friendly and they are almost as commonly seen as the first aid kit. Classes and training tutorials have been developed to educate everyday people ways to use this kind of device and they are in fact including a certain level of training in Red Cross CPR classes. This product is operated by simply positioning electrode pads to the upper body in places guided by the guide book or perhaps chart that is included in each defibrillator. Once the patches are suitably put on, the defibrillator looks at the heart beat and after that tells the operator whether a shock is required or not.

Location of the electrodes is important when using this life preserving technique and has the potential to help save a life, or waste a lot of time. As mentioned earlier, lucky for your person with average skills, some sort of diagram or handbook is more than likely to get included in the unit, because manufacturers know that it will be intended for use in open settings by the regular man or woman. There are 2 different methods for electrode positioning, but the one detailed in the following sentence is certainly the most popular and endorsed approach. This calls for placing one electrode on the left lower part of the chest in front of the heart and the second electrode on the back behind the heart.

AED defibrillators have completely triggered a revolution within the medical field. Previous to their creation, it had not been unusual for an individual to be affected by a heart complication and pass away, for the reason that emergency health assistance did not get there quickly enough. These types of cutting edge tools shed a new light on the situation and call upon regular people to step up and assume control in making an improvement on if someone lives or dies.

Details can be seen at edefibrillators.com

Celiac disease is really an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine. It can appear in men and women of all ages and nationalities. It happens in those unfortunates who are genetically prone for the disorder. Well-known symptoms are weakness, diarrhea, as well as other intestinal tract troubles. Enhanced screening in recent years has ended in a substantial surge of clinically determined cases, and in the United States about as many as one in a hundred and five men and women are afflicted with the problem. Coeliac disease is caused by a response to the protein gluten. The most typical source of gluten is wheat, though various other cereals may trigger symptoms. For this reason, those with celiac disease need to very closely keep track of what they consume and become especially vigilant in avoiding whatever items that contain wheat or grain. If you're suffering from warning signs, go to your medical doctor for a evaluation. If you are diagnosed, start to research just what products you can and cannot consume.

The most frequent warning signs of celiac disease are gastro-intestinal conditions. Even so, the condition can easily show itself in a different way in various individuals. Hence, if you are enduring any other signs that you simply cannot explain such as chronic tiredness, headaches, or simply just not feeling normal, it is a wise decision to see your health care provider for a test. Your medical professional can perform a blood test to ascertain if there is a disorder. Your doctor is going to talk to you regarding celiac disease, if you do really have the disorder.

The vital thing you will need to change is to do away with all wheat out of your diet regime. This may be extremely hard at the outset, but when you figure out what food items you cannot try to eat, and change how you live, it will not be terribly difficult to do. Be sure you read the components of each food you take in to guarantee it doesn't include any wheat. Since the problem is becoming more generally recognized, food labels are progressively using the ingredients label "gluten-free" which can make your life much easier. In addition make sure you talk to your friends and family about celiac disease to make sure they will know regarding your new diet. Tests for gluten are now becoming widely available.

A frequent concern of individuals diagnosed with celiac disease is going out in order to eat at dining establishments. A lot of dining places nowadays feature gluten-free choices on their menu. This makes it safer to eat out, however some individuals have such a high intolerance that you might also want to be aware of cross-contamination. This will happen when chefs ready your food with items that have previously also been applied to breads or some other foods containing gluten. Simply talk to your waiter regarding celiac disease, they will certainly notify the chef and you'll be alright to eat the food.

For more information see Gluten Testing