Analytical methods development, changes to methods, information about measuring quality of grain, ingredients or finished foods by chemical, physical or sensory testing are addressed. All aspects of rheology, as related to cereals, flour, dough, batter, extrudates, and cereal-based finished products, are included in this initiative.

The AACC Intl. Approved Methods Technical Committees have tested and approved more than 300 official methods of analysis which are all available online to subscribers.

Development of an Integrated Total Dietary Fiber Method Consistent with the Codex Alimentarius Definition
(Open Access to this CFW Online Article)
Interest in dietary fiber is a consequence of the belief that dietary fiber contributes positively to the health/quality of life of the consumer. The physiological effects of dietary fiber are what make it of interest to the consumer, food nutritionists, and regulators. Because dietary fiber is a multicomponent mixture, it is essential that there is a clear definition and a methodology to allow measurement of the defined components.

A Statistical Smorgasbord for Cereal Chemistry
Organizer: Debra Palmquist, USDA/ARS, Peoria, IL, U.S.A.
Sponsoring Committee: Statistical Advisory Technical   
Presentations on a wide variety of statistical topics covering issues in cereal chemistry, including what is the meaning of statistics, effective presentation of statistical analyses, avoiding common pitfalls in designing experiments, and making sense of statistical analysis output. Listen and interact with a combination of speakers from industry, academic environments, and government research and regulatory agencies.

Soft Wheat and Flour Products Methods Review: Solvent Retention Capacity Equation Correction
(Open Access to this CFW Online Article)
The Soft Wheat and Flour Products Committee is one of 23 technical committees working with the AACC International approved methods program to ensure that relevant, scientifically sound methods are available for use by individuals and laboratories in the grain science field. The focus of the Soft Wheat and Flour Products Committee is the development and review of methods for the measurement of soft wheat quality, including grains, flour, dough, batter, and cereal-base finished products. In May 2009, the committee reviews proposed changes to the equations for calculation of solvent retention capacity for flour in two methods.

Assessment of Grain Quality: From Breeding to Store Shelf
Organizers: Art Bettge, USDA-ARS WWQL, Pullman, WA, U.S.A.; Sean Finnie, Katholieke University Leuven, Leuven, Belgium  
Assessing grain “quality” is an elusive goal. The definition of quality changes during each stage of the breeding, marketing, milling, and end-use of the grain utilization process. This symposium discusses new and novel analytical tools and techniques, based on cereal chemistry, appropriate to defining quality at each stage of grain production and utilization. Techniques discussed range from molecular marker technology to analyses of bioactive compounds. Newer, nontraditional methods of analysis are emphasized, and basic chemical tests are discussed more than are traditional analytical methods that have been used in previous years. Also incorporated is a discussion of how knowledge gained from end-use feedback is reworked into new breeding strategies. Understanding what quality is and how definitions vary provides the basis for informed decisions in the marketplace.

Recent Advances in Knowledge Related to Starch Synthesis and Structure
Organizers: Melissa Fitzgerald, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Metro Manila, Philippines; Matthew Morell, CSIRO, Brisbane, Australia
Sponsoring Committees: Carbohydrate Division, Rice Division  
Starch is one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature. The apparent similarity of starches from different sources and the concomitant diversity in the functional properties make starch one of the most versatile compounds, with applications in food and nonfood industries. The biosynthesis and breakdown of starch are both complex processes governed by a number of genetic and environmental factors. Research over the past few decades has revealed much about starch synthesis and organization of the granules at both the micro and nano scales. However, much remains to be discovered about the regulatory processes and the organization of the granules at different scales. This symposium will provide an overview of our current understanding of starch synthesis, regulatory mechanisms, and granular organization that will help starch scientists to adopt new tools for grain-improvement programs and for nutritional and functional applications.

Anne Bridges Gets Analytical About the New Approved Methods, 11th Edition
(Open Access to this CFW Online Article)
AACC Intl.'s online methods are the only absolutely current methods available-every lab risks being out of date without the online edition. The old model of simply offering a print edition is outdated in international usage and the Approved Methods Technical Leadership Committee opted to go with the online-only format because of the many benefits this delivery model has to offer.

AACC International Approved Methods of Analysis—Highlights of the 2009 Meetings of the Codex Committee for Methods of Analysis and Sampling
(Open Access to this CFW Online Article)
In the past, the AACC Intl. methods group played an active role on the committees of Codex Alimentarius. “The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines, and related texts, such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this Programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and nongovernmental organizations”

Collaborative Study on Updated Method 10-52: Baking Quality of Cookie Flour—Micro Method (Sugar-Snap Cookie)
(Open Access to this CFW Online Article)
Many of the methods in the AACC International Approved Methods of Analysis analyze various individual physical and biochemical facets and components of cereal grains. Information on each component assists in understanding the nature and potential performance of a particular sample of grain. However, in order to measure the full impact of all the interactions among the array of endogenous components, baking or other end-use tests must be performed. One such test, which has existed since the 1950s, is AACC Intl. Method 10-52: Baking Quality of Cookie Flour—Micro Method. This method is more commonly referred to as the “micro sugar-snap cookie method.”

Biochemical methods for carbohydrate determination
(Subscription Required to View Presentation)
B. McCleary. Megazyme International Ireland, Bray County Wicklow, Ireland
Enzymes have found widespread application in the modification of polysaccharides and in the production and characterisation of oligosaccharides. In this presentation, I will discuss some examples of these applications, but will mainly focus on the use of enzymes in the measurement of mono-, oligo- and polysaccharides. Successful application of enzymes in analytical procedures requires that the enzymes are highly purified and free of contaminating activities. Traditionally, this has required extensive purification formats or the development of specific affinity chromatographic procedures. These requirements are now circumvented with the advent of molecular biology that allows the production of large quantities of very pure enzymes with greatly reduced effort. Enzymic methods are generally based on the hydrolysis of a given oligosaccharide or polysaccharide to their monosaccharide constituents followed by enzymatic determination of the specific monosaccharide. Methods for the measurement of glucose have been available for decades, but those for other sugars such as D-galactose, L-arabinose and D-xylose were either non-existent, or very slow. In this presentation, methods for the measurement of polysaccharides (beta-glucan, starch and arabinoxylan), oligosaccharides (fructan and raffinose) and monosaccharides (D-glucose, D-galactose and D-xylose) will be described.

Managing outliers in collaborative studies
(Subscription Required to View Presentation)
D. Palmquist. USDA ARS, Peoria, IL
A laboratory showing consistently higher or lower values than other laboratories over a range of materials in a collaborative study can be considered to have a bias. Laboratory bias can have misleading consequences when evaluating the efficacy of a method. The between-laboratory variation may be inflated and lead to the conclusion that a perfectly acceptable analytical method will be rejected. A simple technique for identifying outlier laboratories will be presented by ranking the laboratories’ mean results for each material tested in the collaborative. A laboratory having an overall ranking outside the table value range (based on number of materials tested as well as number of participating labs) will be considered to be an outlier whose results can then be removed from the statistical evaluation of a method.