Feasibility of Milling

Gluten-Free Flours

Jane DeMarchi
North American Millers Association
August 19, 2005

North American Millers

Association

96% of the US milling capacity for the

wheat, corn and oat milling industry
More than 160 million pounds daily
48 corporate members
Supply products to bakers, cereal makers,
packaged food companies, brewers, and
directly to retail

Cross Contact Begins

at the Farm

Producers often rotate wheat, barley, rye and oats on

same land - volunteer plants in subsequent years
Several crops may be grown in close proximity on
one farm
Great variability from year to year due to
weather, etc.
Farms use the same harvesting, transport, and
storage equipment without significant clean out
Some corn and oats are purchased on a contract
basis for greater control but mixture is not eliminated
in these cases

Grain Storage & Transportation

Trucks and rail cars used to transport grain are

another source of cross contact
Grain elevators do not thoroughly clean out silos or
equipment when switching grains - in part to
minimize dust for health and safety
Elevators have basic equipment to clean grain but
not specifically to separate mixed grain

Grain Specifications Allow

Other Grains

Grain specifications are based on the US Grain

Standards
Oats

Typically contain 0.5-1.0% cereal grain admix

Maximum of 2-3% allowed depending on the grade

Corn

2-4% broken corn and foreign material depending

on the grade
Milling quality specifications may be more restrictive

The Milling Process

Grain cleaned prior to milling

Width grading - sieves
Length grading - rotating drums
Density separation - gravity tables

Grains that are very different in size and

shape (such as wheat and corn) are
easier to separate than like-sized grains

Deficiencies of Cleaning
Technology

Length, width and weight of kernels of

different grain can be similar in many
circumstances

Barley

Oats

Rye

Wheat

New Technology

Color or optical sorting machines

Expensive
Low
Not

capacity
reliable - if color differences are small

Internal Cleaning Procedures

Good Manufacturing Practices

Mill equipment is regularly cleaned and

inspected. It is critically important to a mill
that product dust not be allowed to gather.
Internal cleaning is dry cleaning, vacuum and
wipe out
Special procedures are used for changing
grains.

HACCP includes analysis of allergen risk.

Testing

Corn and wheat mills generally do not conduct

tests for cross contamination on finished
product.
ELISA tests are not used for cross contact of
grains in mills. Granulation and small test
samples cause results to vary dramatically
In an oat mill, representative samples are hand
sorted and visually inspected

Economics of Grain Milling

Many mills are dedicated to a single grain or

have dedicated lines
Mills operate as close to 24/7 as possible
Shut down time is minimized
Cross contact grains can not be cleaned out
100%. Mills can not lose too much of the desired
grain in the separation process
Testing every bag of product is not feasible
Emphasis on prevention

Concentrations of Gluten
Bearing Cereal Admix

Research has not been done to quantify the

levels of cereal admix in oats or corn on an
industry wide basis.
Individual customers may establish standards
but so far it is not common
Variability from year to year is large

Trace Grains In Finished

Products

Varies depending on product and portion size.

Concentrations of wheat protein in oat flour will
be higher than those in oat flakes due to the
milling process.
Example: 28 gram serving of instant oatmeal

7.5 milligrams of wheat and barley protein approximately 40% (3 milligrams) of which would be
gluten.
(Assumes a .03% contamination of wheat at 15% protein and
barley contamination of .16% at 14% protein content)