A A C C   2 0 0 0   A n n u a l   M e e t i n g

Food safety and loss of agricultural productivity are primary concerns with fusarium damage (FD) in wheat. Research in our laboratory has demonstrated an impact of FD on wheat baking and pasta-making quality at levels below minimum food safety standards. FD limits in some Canadian wheat milling grades have been tightened accordingly. In this study the white salted (WS) and yellow alkaline (YA) noodle properties of Canadian red winter wheat with FD levels from 0.5% to 9% (deoxynivalenol range 0.4 to 6.4 ppm) were determined. Wheat was milled into patent (60% extraction) and straight-grade (75% extraction) flour. Flour color deteriorated, and mixograph curves indicated a moderate loss of dough strength with increasing FD level. The color and texture of WS and YA noodles were influenced by FD. As FD increased noodles became darker (lower L*) and less yellow (lower b*). FD also imparted an undesirable redness (higher a*) in YA noodles. For both noodle types dark specks became more numerous and more pronounced as FD increased. Cooked noodle recovery from compression and maximum cutting stress declined. All of the above effects were observed for both patent and straight-grade flour. FD can impart serious quality implications for Asian noodle quality, and limits below that required for food safety are required in milling grades intended for high quality noodles.