Flour

Description

Flour is powdery ground grain.

• One differentiates between whole grain flour and superfine flour. Whole grain flour consist of grains that are ground along with the germ bud and the outer layers. For superfine flours, only the large inner segment of the grain that consists almost entirely of starch is ground.
• The "fineness" degree shows how much flour can be won out of one kind of grain. A fineness degree of seventy per cent means that out of one hundred kilograms of grain seventy kilograms of flour and thirty kilograms of bran can be won. The higher the fineness degree the more peelings and bran parts the flour contains.
• On the list of ingredients, the type of corn must be named, for example as wheat flour, rye flour and corn flour (also known as hominy). Flour mixes can be declared as flour, if the additionally-used species of corn are listed in the order of their ratio.

Application

• In bread and baking goods of all kinds
• Confectionery, salty snacks and nibbles

Gene technology

Possible application of gene technology:

• Raw materials: soy beans and maize . In the future possibly also: wheat and rice
• Flour treatment agent: In order to improve baking ability, flour treatment agents are added in specific cases to the flour in mills. These include amylase or ascorbic acid.

Labelling: Flour from genetically modified plants (e.g. maize, soy, wheat) is subject to a labelling requirement.

Additives that have been produced with the aid of genetically modified organisms are not subject to a labelling requirement. Enzymes and their manner of production generally are not denoted on the list of ingredients.