Cereals and Milling Department

The department carries out work on the properties of cereals and their transformation into flour and other ingredients. It employs 16 scientific and technical staff. It has facilities for small scale milling and cereal processing, laboratories for cereals testing and research, and also has access to a wider range of food processing and laboratory facilities operated by other departments. The department's activities include research, contract testing, training and technical consultancy. Clients include milling and baking companies in the United Kingdom and internationally, the National Association of British and Irish Millers, the Home Grown Cereals Authority and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Cereals and Milling Science Section conducts research work on wheat and other cereals, flour, and baked products. The research includes understanding properties that affect cereal quality, development of new test methods and processes, and evaluation of new instruments. Examples of previous project outcomes include a commercial image analysis instrument for measuring bread slices, a rapid biochemical method for identifying wheat varieties, practical NIR calibrations used in commercial cereal analysis laboratories, a prototype continuous dough mixing system, and the use of medical imaging scanners to study product structure non-destructively during baking.