Industry News
Cargill’s Barliv™ barley betafiber proves helpful for individuals at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Results from a study published in Nutrition and Metabolism will be presented by Cargill representatives at the American Dietetic Association’s 2011 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Click here for more information.
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Researchers develop "functional spaghetti" with barley flour
Researchers in Italy and Spain conducted tests to determine whether barley could be used to produce “functional spaghetti” by providing fiber and antioxidants. The researchers developed a barley flour containing the most nutritious part of the grain and used it to make pasta. They found that the barley spaghetti had more fiber and more antioxidant activity than traditional semolina-based spaghettis. Adding gluten to barley flour improved the cooking quality of the pasta, but lowered its antioxidant activity. Results from the study were published in the September 14, 2011 edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Click here for the study abstract.
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Barley-In-Bagels Project
In 2010, veteran wheat foods specialist, Veronica Jiminez of Mexico City traveled to the Wheat Marketing Center (WMC) in Portland, OR to spend five months working with Dr. Gary Hou, the WMC’s technical manager and Asian foods specialist on a special project with barley.
For The Barley-In-Bagels Project, Veronica used the extensive research and testing facilities at WMC to enhance the nutritional and health benefits of wheat-based foods by using three different types of barley flour. Products tested included consumer favorites such as bagels, pan breads, instant ramen noodles, cookies and tortillas. For an in-depth review of this project, click here.
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Industry event: Whole Grains Council Meeting
The Whole Grains Council held its annual meeting in Portland, OR, January 31-February 2. Titled "Whole Grains, the New Norm," the three-day event included presentations from food and nutrition professionals representing government, private industry, academia and the scientific community. For a review of meeting highlights, click here.
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Article: Barley Basics
Source: Foodproductdesign.com
Posted on 06/21/10
By Kris Nelson, Contributing Editor
When someone mentions barley in conjunction with human consumption, the common reaction is, "sure I have barley regularly in my beer" (wink, wink). In reality, barley ranks among the top 10 crops grown in the world and ranks fourth among cereal crops. Barley preceeded wheat as a food grain in ancient Egypt. Data published by the United Nations in 1990 showed the Middle Eastern and North African countries to have the highest consumption of barley as a food. Barley is used as an extender of rice and for its health benefits in the cultures of the Far East. In North America, the bulk of barley grown is used for feed, followed by malting, while millling use accounts for a small percentage of demand.
In the past, most U.S. breeding programs have focused on malting barley. Traits that benefit the malting companies and breweries are not necessarily the most desirable for the food industry. Barley was bred for characteristics aiding malt and beer production, which include low protein and high extractable starch, as well as low soluble fiber in the malted grain. Recently, breeders in both Canada and the United States have shown interest in developing new varieties that exhibit traits that would be beneficial in food and health applications. The National Barley Foods Council (barleyfoods.org) has been instrumental in trying to bring together barley plant breeders and industry in an effort to establish common goals.
Inside the hull
A number of types of barley are grown in North America. Most common are the two-row and six-row covered types. These are used for feed, malting and human consumption purposes. The term "covered" refers to a husk that is tightly adhered to the kernel. This husk or hull stays with the grain through the harvest process. In addition to the covered varieties, there are naked or hull-less varieties. The hull-less varieties have a hull that is loosely adhered. Much will come off during harvest and shipping; what is left is easily removed at the mill. Adding to the list of possibilities, both covered and naked barley have varieties that are considered to be waxy with starch at or near 100% amylopectin.
The more readily available covered-type barley varieties have an inedible husk that must be removed through a pearling step during processing. Pearling is an abrasive action that literally sands the husk off the kernels. Hulled barley is made by stopping the pearling after the husk is removed, but leaving the bran layer as intact as possible. Like the naked varieties, this is considered a whole-grain product. Taking the pearling process further will result in pearled barley, a process comparable to milling brown rice to white rice. Manufacturers will normally produce several different degrees of pearl, depending on cook time, color and size requirements governed by the end use. Once the husk has been removed, the barley can then be used in food products.
Building with barley
Given its bland flavor and light color, barley lends itself well to many applications. With increased interest in whole-grain and multigrain foods, barley has found its way into products such as bread, ready-to-eat cereals, hot cereals, granola and muesli-type products, as well as snack foods, baby foods, meat products, pasta, and of course, soup.
Products currently available in the marketplace are numerous. Hulled barley and pearled barley are whole-kernel products that can be used in soups and side dishes. These whole-kernel products can be flaked to yield a large flake similar to "old fashioned" oat-type flakes. Depending on the degree of pearl, as well as barley variety, these flakes will range in color from tan to almost white. Alternatively, the kernels can be cut and used as a cut product, or cut and then flaked, resulting in a quick-flake, similar to a "quick cooking" oat flake. Meals and flours are also available.
Healthy angles
Barley, like oats, contains the soluble fiber beta-glucan. Oat beta-glucan has been associated with heart health for some time. In 1997, FDA allowed a heart-health claim for foods containing 0.75 grams of beta-glucan in a single serving. In 2001 to 2002, USDA's Agricultural Research Service conducted two human clinical trials showing a significant correlation between barley consumption and cholesterol reduction. And, in 2005, FDA amended its health claim for soluble fiber and coronary heart disease to include barley. Preliminary studies using both animals and humans indicate barley may also have potential in modifying glycemic response in humans. More studies are planned.
In both oat and barley grain, the beta-glucan is located in the cell walls. In the case of oats, the cell walls are thicker in the area near the aleurone layer. This concentrates the beta-glucan content in oats near the bran layer. The thickness of barley cell walls is more consistent throughout the kernel. Depending on the variety of barley, the whole grain will have beta-glucan levels at or above those found in oat bran.
Barley is rich in alpha-tocotrienol, an antioxidant found mainly in the aleurone layer of the kernel. A study undertaken at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul was based on the theory that, due to the tocotrienol content, barley could be used to retard rancidity, and thus, the development of warmed-over flavor in comminuted meat products. The addition of whole-grain barley flour had a more significant effect than did pearled barley flour. This would be consistent with the theory that at least a good part of the off-flavor fighting ability was due to the tocotrienols.
Although currently underutilized in the food industry, barley has the potential for wider exposure. Barley has been shown to be heart-healthy, and it is available, affordable and relatively easy to work with.
Kris Nelson has been working with malted barley or milled barley products since 1981 Her experience includes basic research in the malting industry, and quality assurance and technical sales in the milling industry.
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Article: High-Fiber Grains
Source: Foodproductdesign.com
Posted on 08/04/2009
It’s the old conundrum. We know what and how much we should eat, but it’s hard to do it. Fiber sits high on that to-do list. Because whole grains are a naturally excellent source of fiber, food developers have an opportunity to help consumers meet a trifecta of dietary goals: increased fiber and whole-grains intake, as well as possible weight-reduction.
A fiber primer
The amount and type of fiber present in a whole grain is dependent on the type of grain. When grains are refined, the fiber present in the hull and the bran is literally stripped away. To increase the fiber content of foods, it’s important to use either whole-grain or bran ingredients.
Fiber is differentiated into two categories. Insoluble fiber sweeps material through the digestive system. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like materials in water and helps regulate cholesterol and glucose levels.
Some grains, such as oats and barley, are known for their soluble fiber, specifically beta-glucan. Barley has 10% to 12% total fiber and 4% to 6% beta-glucan. Oats have 10% fiber and 4% beta-glucan.
In comparison, whole-wheat flour has 10.8% insoluble fiber and no soluble fiber. Spelt, a variety of wheat, has 10.7% insoluble fiber. Dark rye flour, a whole-meal flour, has 22.6% insoluble fiber. Light rye flour, which has had the bran and germ removed, has 14.6%. Triticale, a hybrid of durum wheat and rye, has 14.6% insoluble fiber and zero soluble fiber.
Processing techniques depend on the type of grain. When barley’s nondigestible hull is removed, it’s considered dehulled. Removing the bran layer (and the whole-grain claim …) yields pearled barley. In other grains, it is also possible to separate the bran to yield a beneficial ingredient. Oat bran is desirable because the bran contains most of the beta-glucan. Bran may also be separated from corn, providing a rich source of insoluble fiber.
Grains can be milled to whole flours or meals or they may be flaked. Oats may be steel-cut.
Reaching for claims
The FDA allows a “good source” of fiber claim if the food contains 2.5 to 4.9 grams of fiber per serving. If the food contains more than 4.9 grams per serving, it can be labeled an “excellent source” of fiber.
Bar developers face some obstacles when trying to deliver the recommended daily intake of fiber in a single serving, especially when relying on whole oats and barley rather than a concentrates, notes Darren Schubert, sales manager, Grain Millers, Inc., Eugene, OR. The difficulty comes in determining “how much sweetner could be added, not only for a good-tasting product, but to bind the product and hold it together,” he says. “You might be limited from a percentage standpoint of how much grain (and ultimately, how much fiber) you can put into it,” if relying completely on whole grains alone. Ingredients that bind and flavor the bar will dilute the fiber delivered per serving and make it difficult to meet the daily fiber intake in a relatively small bar.
While whole grains provide additional nutrients, moisture retention can be a challenge for developers working with whole grains. “The bran wants to absorb a lot of water, and so does the fiber,” says Schubert. “Those things cause complexities within the final product.” One of the ways developers have addressed this problem is by reducing the size of the bran. “There are more and more companies finding and utilizing technology to grind, micropulverize and put the bran back in the original starch and make whole-grain – even going beyond that, adding more fiber to the product and delivering really good products because of it,” he says. “There are systems that create whole-grain products that I call whole-grain squared. They’re taking whole grain to the next level where they’re keeping the hull from the grain in the final product. They’re able to heat and mash, extrude and gelatinize everything and grind it down to a particle size where they hide the insoluble fibers, or they make them the same granulation size as the starch so it blends very nicely in the end product.”
Some manufacturers produce whole-grain ingredients using stem injection, and then stabilize and dry under pressure. After milling and microgrinding cereal-based raw materials, the products are particularly suited for pasta-making.
Whole-grain white wheat flours are ground more finely than typical whole-wheat flours. The variety of wheat used is also key to the widespread appeal of these products. Red wheat flours are typically used to make whole-wheat flour. The coloring component in red wheat, tannic acid, also contributes a slight bitter flavor. For many applications, the light color and milder flavor of white whole-wheat is preferred.
Sowing oat and barley advantages
Oats and barley also lend a gentle flavor to foods. Oat fiber offers functional benefits to a broad range of applications. It can strengthen doughs and chips, or provide additional water and oil retention in meat products. “When the chip is manufactured, it’s extruded and baked down to a very low moisture, and it might break apart,” says Schubert. Because oat fiber holds additional water, adding it to bread products can “improve a baker’s yield, not only for financial impact but to improve crumb softness and shelf-life extension. You can improve the crumb staling by retaining more moisture in your dough. It begins to leach out from the fiber and continues to keep the bread softer and slows down the staling process.”
As a processing aid, starting usage of oat fiber is 12%. In these cases, manufacturers are not interested in a dietary fiber claim so much as strength development and yield improvement. Nonetheless, even if oat fiber is not adding significantly to the fiber content, it is still a healthful ingredient on the label declaration.
“People are becoming more conscientious as to how their product is being processed and what is going into it in terms of processing aids,” says Schubert. “Manufacturers are very aware of that, and they want to provide as much natural ingredient as possible.”
Schubert has seen tortillas made with 30% oat fiber to achieve a fiber claim. “The manufacturer had to increase the water in the formula. They they had to find ways to inhibit mold, because there’s so much water activity in the system,” he says.
Specialty barley ingredients – typically available as kernels, flakes or flour – have been used in tortillas, as well as breads, pilaf, pasta, cereals, cookies, crackers and snacks.
What makes this barley unique compared to other grains is the dispersion of fiber throughout the entire grain including the endosperm. The product is made from an identity-preserved barley that has a unique carbohydrate composition. It contains more than 30% fiber and greater than 12% beta-glucan. It has 30% less starch than typical barley.
Barley has a darker color than white wheat or oats so, depending on the application, the developer may choose to combine it with another grain. Also, when using oats or barley, bakers will need to add gluten. In fact, even when using a white whole-wheat flour, gluten supplementation is essential. The flour’s fine granulation inhibits gluten development compared to traditional whole-wheat flour.
Formulators seeking to make a heart-health claim may choose to incorporate a concentrated beta-glucan product. In addition to health-imbuing properties, a barley-extracted soluble fiber with 70% beta-glucan, for example, can build viscosity and control moisture.
Meeting Multiple Health Needs
When it comes to fiber, most Americans are falling far short of the USDA’s recommended 31 grams per day. According to the CDC report “What We Eat in America,” National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2005 to 2006, the average intake is just half that amount. Males 20 and over average 17.8 grams fiber per day. Women 20 and over average 14.1 grams.
It’s not just fiber. Consumers know they should eat more whole grains. According to the 2007 report, “Consumer Attitudes Toward Functional Foods/Foods for Health,” International Food Information Council, Washington, D.C., nearly three-quarters of those surveyed associate whole grains with cardiovascular benefit. An even higher number, 86%, associate fiber and whole grains with digestive health. Whole grains were recognized as one of the top six functional foods. Specifically, participants names fiber, oats, oat bran, oatmeal and cereal.
And wait until consumers get wind of fiber’s purported weight-reduction benefits. Studies by NHANES reported at the 2009 Experimental Biology Conference concluded that increased fiber intake is associated with lower body weight and a decrease in abdominal fat. In both men and women, increased fiber intake is associated with a lower waist circumference. Women also were found to have a lower body-mass index.
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FDA Health Claim for Barley Soluble Fiber
Overview
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized use of a health claim for the role of beta-glucan soluble fiber from barley in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. The FDA amended CFR 101.81, the regulation authorizing a health claim on the relationship between oat beta-glucan soluble fiber and reduced risk of coronary heart disease to include barley as an additional eligible source of beta-glucan soluble fiber. The FDA concluded that, based on the totality of publicly available scientific evidence, in addition to certain oat products, whole grain barley and certain dry milled barley grain products are appropriate sources of beta-glucan soluble fiber for the health claim. A final rule was published in the Federal Register on May 22, 2006. The ruling is in response to a petition submitted by the National Barley Foods Council in 2004.
Sample claim
Following is an example of the health claim that may be used:
Soluble fiber from foods such as [name of food], as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of [name of food] supplies [x] grams of the soluble fiber necessary per day to have this effect.
Note: Health claim CFR 101.81 is based on eating 3 grams of beta-glucan soluble fiber daily.
What barley products qualify as eligible beta-glucan soluble fiber sources?
- Whole grain barley
- Barley bran
- Barley flakes
- Barley flour
- Barley grits
- Barley meal
- Pearl barley
- Sieved barley meal
Does the FDA specify fiber content of the qualifying barley sources?
Yes. Dehulled and hulless whole grain barley must have a total dietary fiber content of at least 10% on a dry weight basis (dwb) and a beta-glucan soluble fiber content of at least 4% dwb. Barley flakes, barley grits, pearl barley, barley flour and barley meal must have a total dietary fiber content of at least 8% dwb and a beta-glucan soluble fiber content of at least 4% dwb. Barley bran and sieved barley meal must have a total dietary fiber content of at least 15% dwb and a beta-glucan soluble fiber content of at least 5.5% dwb.
Does the FDA include any processing specifications for the qualifying barley beta-glucan soluble fiber sources?
Yes. Qualifying barley products must be produced from clean, sound dehulled or hulless barley using standard dry milling techniques.
Is barley bran made from the malting process or distillers dried grains (DDGs) eligible for the claim?
No. Considerable water is used in the processing and is therefore not considered dry milling, so this product is not currently eligible.
What about barley malt flour? Is it eligible for the claim?
No. The malting process causes beta-glucans to break down, so barley malt flour is not currently eligible for the claim.
How does a food made from eligible barley sources qualify for the claim?
A food made from eligible barley sources must contain at least 0.75 grams of beta-glucan soluble fiber per serving. Health claim CFR 101.81 is based on eating a total of 3 grams of beta-glucan soluble fiber daily.
How much beta-glucan soluble fiber is found in typical barley products such as pearl barley or barley flakes?
The beta-glucan soluble fiber content of barley can vary somewhat, depending on the type or class of barley used for human food. As a general estimate, one-fourth cup of uncooked pearl barley contains approximately 2.5 grams beta-glucan soluble fiber. (One-fourth cup of uncooked pearl barley yields approximately 3/4 to 1 cup of cooked pearl barley.) One-half cup of uncooked barley flakes contains approximately 2 grams beta-glucan soluble fiber. Note: The beta-glucan soluble fiber figures provided here are averages only. Be surer to check package labels for soluble fiber content of specific barley products.
Where can I obtain more information about the final ruling?
For a full transcript of the FDA’s final ruling, see the Federal Register of Monday, May 22, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 98, Pages 29248-29250) or go to www.accessdata.fda.gov. Search by Docket No. 2004P-0512.
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