March 12, 2010

New Total Dietary Fiber Method Published in the
Approved Methods Online Edition

AACC Intl. Approved Method 32-45.01 was approved in late December 2009 after rigorous review by the AACC Intl. Approved Methods Technical Committee. This method determines total dietary fiber in foods and food ingredients, as defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The method quantitates high molecular weight dietary fiber (HMWDF), including resistant starch (RS), and low molecular weight soluble dietary fiber (LMWSDF), including nondigestible oligo-saccharides.

The collab for this new method, officially entitled “Total Dietary Fiber (TDF) (Codex Alimentarius Definition),” consisted of 18 laboratories. The examination of the intralaboratory results was completed by the AACC Intl. Dietary Fiber Committee and the Approved Methods Technical Committee. A video demonstration and online calculators for this new fiber method will be added soon upon approval by the Approved Methods Enhancements Committee. However, the method is valid and ready for use in food labs.

“We’ve been excited about this method for quite some time,” said Rajen Mehta of SunOpta Ingredients Group and a member of the Dietary Fiber Committee. “A lot of hard work went into developing this method, and it shows in the results. This method will simplify TDF analysis by avoiding confusion when multiple types of fiber are used in foods; it alleviates the need to use several analytical methods for fiber on a single food sample.”

Subscribing companies have immediate access to this method, which is now available in the online AACC Intl. Approved Methods of Analysis, 11th Edition at AACCnet.

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Approved Biotech Method on Quantification of
Corn Added to New Online Methods

The AACC Intl. Approved Method 11-30.01 was added to the new online 11th edition of the AACC Intl. Approved Methods of Analysis on January 21, 2010. Quantification of MON 810 Corn in Corn Flour by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction is a method that quantifies the relative amount of MON 810 DNA in corn flour. It makes a relative quantification of a specific part from the taxon-specific maize gene (i.e., the high mobility group [HMG] protein gene) and of the single-copy DNA integration-border region of the genomic sequence and the inserted sequence element.

MON 810 Corn is the only genetically modified (GM) crop approved for growing anywhere in the European Union. It is important as a biotech event-specific analysis method that provides quantification. The performance characteristics mean it is suitable for use in enforcement purposes. It is a full method validation from flour to reported GM percent. Many GM methods are only partial validations starting with extracted DNA.

Subscribing companies have immediate access to this method, which is now available in the AACC Intl. Approved Methods of Analysis, 11th Edition, at www.aaccnet.org.

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2010 AACC International Annual Meeting:
More Ways to Learn, More Time to Discuss

The 2010 scientific program continues to focus on AACC International’s 7 Key Scientific Initiatives and will offer several new features designed to facilitate discussion among speakers, poster presenters, exhibitors, and attendees.

The 2010 Annual Meeting Program Planning Team, led by Christophe Courtin (pictured at left) of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, has put together an outstanding program that balances the success of previous AACC Intl. annual meetings with new features and enhancements.

“The 2010 scientific program is built around priorities set by the members of the organization. New features, such as the Science Cafés and the PosterTalks, foster debate and discussion to broaden the impact of science and insights presented at the meeting,” notes Courtin.

This year’s AACC Intl. Annual Meeting program will feature a blend of traditional and new formats for the scientific sessions. The meeting offers more scientific content and more time scheduled each day to attend the sessions.

Symposia and Science Cafés
Symposia and Science Cafés focus on multidisciplinary, cross-scientific initiative topics. They have been crafted around themes identified by the AACC Intl. community and expanded by the program team and session organizers.

• Symposia are aimed at optimal knowledge transfer through 20-minute talks with room for topical questions.
• New! Science Cafés are set up to combine shorter or more elaborate position talks with debate and discussion.

Technical Sessions and PosterTalk
Technical Sessions and PosterTalk sessions focus on more in-depth coverage of central themes within single scientific initiatives. They are put together, after peer-review and selection, from abstracts submitted through the online-abstract submission system.

• Technical Sessions feature 20-minute talks covering new scientific insights and technological advancements in the field.
• New! PosterTalk sessions consist of short talks, highlighting the main findings and take-home messages found on selected posters, followed by in-room poster viewing and discussion.

The Symposia and Technical Sessions are “swapable” sessions, allowing people to easily commute from one session to another. The Science Café and PosterTalk sessions are “here-to-stay” sessions, where participation during a complete session is a guarantee for insightful and rewarding debate.

Call for Papers
Submitting an abstract for the 2010 AACC International Annual Meeting is a great way to gain critical exposure for your research and make contact with the top experts in the field. The online submissions of abstracts runs from February 1 through April 15, 2010. Oral and poster submissions are reviewed for acceptance. An individual may be a presenter of only one oral presentation and two poster submissions.

Preliminary session titles for the 2010 AACC Intl. Annual Meeting include:

• A Statistical Smorgasbord for Cereal Chemistry*
• Assessment of Grain Quality: From Breeding to Store Shelf*
• Best Student Research Paper Competition
• Bioengineering for Human Health*
• Celiac Disease: A Multidisciplinary Point of View
• Emerging and Persisting Food Scares: Analytical Challenges and Socioeconomic Impact
• Grain-Based Food and Ingredient Safety in the Food Supply Chain
• The Impact of Climate Change on the Production and Utilization of Wheat and Rice
• New Milling and Pretreatment Technologies for Changing Functionality and Nutritional Profiles of Flours
• Recent Advances in Knowledge Related to Starch Synthesis and Structure
• Small-Grain Biorefining—Agronomy and Grain Supply, Biorefining Technology, Environmental Sustainability, and Commercial Development
• Whole Grains Unraveled*

*These sessions are Science Cafés. The remaining sessions are traditional symposia.

The 2010 AACC International Annual Meeting
Program Planning Team

2010 Program Team Chair
Christophe Courtin, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

2010 Program Team Vice Chair
Deirdre Ortiz, Kellogg Company, U.S.A.

2010 Scientific Initiative Track Chairs and Vice Chairs

Biotechnology and Sustainability
Chair: Peter Shewry, Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom
Vice Chair: Baninder S. Sroan, Frito Lay, U.S.A.

Cereal and Polymer Chemistry
Chair: Peter Koehler, German Research Center for Food Chemistry, Germany
Vice Chair: Koushik Seetharaman, University of Guelph, Canada

Engineering and Processing
Chair: Vijay Singh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S.A.

Food Safety and Regulatory
Chair: Lauren Jackson, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S.A.
Vice Chair: Dirk E. Maier, Kansas State University, U.S.A.

Health and Nutrition
Chair: Bruce Hamaker, Purdue University, U.S.A.
Vice Chair: Brinda Govindarajan, Kellogg Company, U.S.A.

Ingredients and Cost of Goods Sold
Chair: Greet Vandeputte, Nestle PTC Orbe, Switzerland
Vice Chair: Elizabeth A. Arndt, ConAgra Foods Inc., U.S.A.

Quality and Analytical Methods
Chair: Art Bettge, USDA ARS WWQL, U.S.A.
Vice Chair: Sean Finnie, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

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Students Are Invited to Show Off Their
Product Development Skills

The 2010 AACC Intl. Student Product Development Competition is now underway. Students are invited to compete with their new product containing at least one major cereal ingredient. The deadline to enter the competition is June 1, 2010, and the product report must be submitted by July 1. The top five teams will be chosen to participate in the poster, oral, and product sampling sessions at the annual meeting, October 24–27, in Savannah, GA, U.S.A. Teams will be awarded cash prizes, with travel grants awarded to all teams chosen to compete at the annual meeting.

For a complete copy of competition rules and criteria, contact Product Development Chair Yanjie Bai (yanjie916@gmail.com). Information is also available on the Student Division website on AACCnet.

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Pacific Northwest Section Update

The Pacific Northwest Section of AACC Intl. met in conjunction with the 2010 Pacific Northwest Wheat Quality Council, January 27, 2010, in Scottsdale, AZ, U.S.A., and sponsored a half day of technical presentations. Talks covered the Barley Foods Council (Mary Palmer Sullivan, Washington Grain Alliance); Grains for Health Foundation (Jodi A. Engleson); Conservation Reserve Program Impact (Dennis Roe, Washington State University); and t-Score Application Between Labs (Doug Engle, Western Wheat Quality Lab). The section approved a $300 student travel award for the 2010 AACC Intl. Annual Meeting in Savannah. New officers were also elected: Jodi Engleson—secretary; Zory Quinde-Axtell—chair; and Doug Engle—past chair. Pacific Northwest Check Sample winners were: Moisture: first—ADM Milling, Spokane, WA, U.S.A., second—Cereal Food Processors, Ogden, UT, U.S.A., and third—Anresco, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A. Protein: first—OMIC, Portland, OR, U.S.A., second—Wheat Marketing Center, Portland, OR, U.S.A., and third—ADM Milling, Spokane, WA, U.S.A. Ash: first—ADM Milling, Spokane, WA, U.S.A., second—ConAgra Foods, Colton, CA, U.S.A., and third—Pendleton Flour Mills, LLC, Blackfoot, ID, U.S.A. Falling Number: first—OMIC, Portland, OR, U.S.A., second—ADM Milling, Spokane, WA, U.S.A.; and third—ADM Milling, Cheney, WA, U.S.A. The Pacific Northwest Section will meet with the Pacific Northwest Wheat Quality Council in Seattle, WA, U.S.A., in January 2011 (specific dates and venue to be determined).

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Obituary

Roy L. Whistler (pictured at right), Emeritus Hillenbrand Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at Purdue University, died at his home on Sunday, February 7, 2010. He was 97 years old. He was born on March 21, 1912, in Tiffin, OH, U.S.A., where he grew up. He attended Heidelberg College (B.S.), The Ohio State University (M.S.), and Iowa State University (Ph.D.). He began his professional career at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards (1938–1940), then became head of the Starch Structure Group of the USDA Northern Regional Research Laboratory, Peoria, IL, U.S.A. (1940–1945), before coming to Purdue University.

Whistler contributed to many aspects of carbohydrate chemistry, but was best known for pioneering research on polymeric carbohydrates known as polysaccharides and for promoting their industrial applications. For example, he foresaw the industrial potential of the guar plant, promoted it as a new commercial crop, determined the structure of the main constituent of guar gum, and was instrumental in the development of the guar gum industry. He also perceived the industrial potential of starch amylose and with H. H. Kramer, a corn geneticist and professor at Purdue, developed the first high-amylose corn, now also a valuable commercial crop. He was a leading consultant to the corn-starch industry during its major development period, the post-WWII years. He chaired the Crop Utilization Committee of Purdue’s Agriculture Experiment Station in the 1950s and for 16 years its Institute for Agricultural Utilization Research.

For his scientific contributions, he was awarded 10 major national and international awards, including the AACC Intl. Alsberg-Schoch Award, the AACC Intl. Osborne Medal, and the Nicholas Appert Award of the Institute of Food Technologists. His impact on the profession was just as great. He was the dominant force in the founding of the International Carbohydrate Organization, International Carbohydrate Symposia, the International Workshop on Plant Polysaccharides, and the AACC Intl. Carbohydrate Division. He was a past president of AACC Intl. and the American Institute of Chemists, and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society and on the executive committee of the Society of Sigma Xi. He was awarded four honorary doctorate degrees, including one from Purdue University and one from Iowa State University.

In the business arena, Whistler was a consultant to 20 companies on a long-term basis and a director of 11 companies, serving as chair of the board of several, including U.S. Air. Whistler wrote the first complete book on Polysaccharide Chemistry (1953) and provided investigators a source of Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry with the establishment and editing of this series. He also established and edited a treatise on Industrial Gums and one on Starch: Chemistry and Technology.

A major international award, the Roy L. Whistler Award of the International Carbohydrate Organization ($10,000 prize), is named to honor him. The premier carbohydrate research center, the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research at Purdue University, is also named in honor of him.

James BeMiller, founder and former director of the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research, noted that “Professor Whistler was a man and a scientist of unique stature. For almost 50 years, he was a pioneer and a leader in carbohydrate research and applications. He promoted cooperation and friendship among carbohydrate researchers around the world. He bridged academic science and industry and was held with esteem and admiration by all who knew him. For decades, Professor Whistler was the dominant force in carbohydrate chemistry in the world, a leader in the field of industrial utilization of carbohydrates in both the academic and business communities, a compiler of the carbohydrate literature, and a unifier of the international carbohydrate community. His name is synonymous with the chemistry and utilization of polysaccharides.”

Bruce Hamaker, who holds the Roy L. Whistler Chair in the Department of Food Science, says of Whistler, “Dr. Whistler stood apart as a giant in the field of carbohydrate chemistry. His contributions to carbohydrate chemistry were numerous and important. Much of our current knowledge of the structures and physical and chemical properties of hemicelluloses and plant gums was provided by Dr. Whistler and his students.”

S. Suzanne Nielsen, Head of the Department of Food Science, Whistler’s last home at the university, said “Dr. Whistler had an impact on the field of carbohydrate chemistry, from both basic research and practical applications standpoints that gave him international stature. The starch and industrial gums industries grew rapidly during the height of his activity. These products are now widely used in the food and a myriad of other industries.”

Whistler was an outdoorsman and a lover of wildlife. He made numerous trips to places such as Africa, South America, Hudson Bay, Antarctica, and the foothills of the Himalayas to observe nature. In 1997, he founded the Roy Whistler Foundation to promote and support the preservation of natural land and wildlife, primarily in Tippecanoe and surrounding counties.

Whistler was also a lover of intercollegiate athletics and chaired the Athletic Committee of the University Senate and was the Faculty Representative to the Big Ten Conference (1966–1977).

Whistler was preceded in death by his wife Lea. He is survived by a son William of Logansport and three grandchildren: Gwen of Rensselaer and Joshua and Michael of Logansport.

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Welcome Corporate Members

ANKOM Technology
Contact: Christopher L. Kelley
2052 O’Neil Rd.
Macedon, NY 14502 U.S.A.
Phone: +1.315.986.8090
Fax: +1.315.986.8091
E-mail: info@ankom.com
Website: www.ankom.com

ANKOM Technology manufactures and markets analytical instrumentation for the food and feed industries. ANKOM is best known for the development of Filter Bag Technology for determining detergent and crude fiber, as well as crude and total fat in feeds and foods. TDF automation will be launched in late 2010.

California Wheat Commission
Contact: Den-Shun Huang
1240 Commerce Ave., Ste A
Woodland, CA 95776 U.S.A.
Phone: +530.661.1292
Fax: +530.661.1332
E-mail: info@californiawheat.org
Website: www.californiawheat.org

The purpose of the California Wheat Commission is to develop and maintain international and domestic markets for California grown wheat and support research which will improve California wheat quality and its marketability. The Commission has an on-site milling and baking laboratory that conducts wheat quality testing.

PT Lumbung Nasional Flour Mill
Contact: Grant Lutz
Jl Ir Haji Juanda II No 6
Jakarta Pusat, 10120 Indonesia
Phone: +62 21 570 3778
Fax: +62 21 251 0220
E-mail: lumbung.nasional@gmail.com

Lumbung Nasional Flour Mill was established in 2007 with a vision to be the leading premium flour producer in Indonesia. We strive to give the best customer service in technical knowledge to all flour customers through our experienced technical service team.

Red Star Yeast Co LLC
Contact: Robert Biwersi
7475 West Main St.
Milwaukee, WI 53214 U.S.A.
Phone: +1.414.615.4085
Fax: +1.414.615.4003
E-mail: bob.biwersi@lesaffreyeastcorp.com
Website: www.redstaryeast.com

The company is a partnership between ADM and Lesaffre Yeast Corp, providing a complete range of yeast products, with plants in Cedar Rapids, IA, and Headland, AL, U.S.A.

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