330 Role of biotechnology in the grain processing industry.

R. T. Tyler. Department of Applied Microbiology and Food Science, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8.

The grain processing industry, broadly defined, includes flour millers, feed manufacturers, maltsters, and alcohol producers. Biotechnology has significantly impacted at least some industry players already, but much potential remains to improve the economics of grain processing and the quality and functionality of the products manufactured. The ability, through biotechnology, to generate marked changes in grain composition and in the functionality of grain components, to alter primary and secondary metabolism in cereal grains during their development and germination, to assay for major and minor components rapidly and accurately, and to lower the cost of raw materials, stands to revolutionize the grain processing industry. Users of the products of the grain processing industry will determine, to a large extent, where biotechnological applications will be realized.