Final Report Summary - BARLEYBOOST (Boosted barley utilisation and consumption in the EU for better health)
Executive Summary:
The BARLEYboost project will develop a monitoring tool in combination with milling technology that improves process management for the flour milling industry, creates sustainable and profitable business growth and provides its SME participants with specific knowledge, technology and products that will enable them to further differentiation and strengthening of their competitive position relative to global competitors.
The consortium has been inter-sectorial, and multidisciplinary, involving partners representing different European countries. The research work, carried out on behalf of the SMEs, by the RTD Performers; Nofima (Norway), VTT (Finland) and INRA (France), experts in cereal chemistry, cereal technology, rapid analysis technology, health benefits of barley foods and product development techniques. The SMEs in the consortium included Stangeland Mølle STA (Norway) as a mill, Macphie of Glenbervie MAC (UK) an ingredient supplier and two bakeries; Råde Bakeri RAA (Norway) and PATS bakery in Estonia. Perten Instruments Group (PER) has given input to the project as an equipment manufacturing enterprise for measuring quality components in flour.
The BARLEYboost project had three overall aims: 1) to develop monitoring tools for analysis and control of the barley pearling process (during milling), for flour quality analysis, and for end product quality, 2) to develop an innovative barley milling process to enrich different grain tissues and health components, and 3) to develop new food products by using barley fractions.
The project has given several significant results:
- A rapid monitoring tool has been developed based on NIR (near infrared) spectroscopy. This can maximize the amount of flour and minimize the amount of pearling dust, thus controlling the yield and quality of the whole grain barley flour.
- A milling procedure for additional fractionation of enriched beta-glucan, starch or protein fractions has been provided increasing the range of application as well as the potential of barley as a food grain.
- A rapid and non-destructive spectroscopic method has been developed to measure the amount of starch and beta-glucan in barley flour and fractions.
- A wide diversity of barley products have been developed using different barley fractions. Many different barley products makes barley beta-glucan more available for the consumer as well as makes it easier to reach recommended daily intake of beta-glucan.
The project has enabled competitive advantages for the participating SME’s by increasing their knowledge about barley varieties, barley grain composition, barley tissues, health-promoting component, controllability of barley milling and different barley milling processes as well as product development techniques.
Project Context and Objectives:
Description of project context and objectives
Overall BARLEYboost project strategy and general description
Milling companies remove up to 50% of the barley kernel in the abrasion process. This produces a high amount of waste fraction and deteriorate the nutritional value of the resulting barley flour. Further, barley is high in beta-glucan and beta-glucan is one of the few health components to achieve the ‘health claim approval’ by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). These challenges open up potential new markets for SMEs who wish to produce more barley, to develop a novel barley milling process, to produce whole grain barley flour and fractions with a higher level of health-promoting component than conventionally milled barley. Further, under-utilised mills in Europe could increase their milling capacity, reduce waste and create a competitive advantage in terms of diversifying milling and bakery product ranges.
The BARLEYboost project seeks to develop a new milling concept and thus new developments of new technology or new design for technology set up, new processes, new monitoring tools for control and analysis and new food products with a health focus. The research developments in the project will facilitate developments of new processes for SMEs, ensuring market driven solutions, increase their milling capacity, reduce waste and create a competitive advantage in terms of diversifying milling and bakery product ranges. It will create opportunities for equipment manufacturers to develop and sell new monitoring and milling systems. Bakeries could offer a diverse range of barley-based products, which will increase their profit margins. Ultimately, the consumer will benefit from a naturally produced healthier staple product.
Project objectives
The implications of the BARLEYboost improved and optimized milling concept involves:
1. Increased yield by reducing the amount of pearling flour (waste) by 25 % by identification of suitable biochemical markers for the different grain tissues and thus development and establishment of a rapid online method for continuous monitoring of the pearling process in order to achieve optimal separation of the hull from the layers beneath, thus having full process control.
2. Preservation of beneficial components by reducing the pearling degree
3. Development of monitoring tools for analysis and control of the barley pearling process (during milling), flour quality analysis, and for end product quality
4. Unique barley milling processes for increasing yield and enrichment of different grain tissues and health components
5. New milling products. The innovative barley milling process will produce whole grain barley flour, aleurone layer fraction flour and barley milling fractions enriched with beta-glucan, starch and protein.
6. New food products developed by using the barley milling products/fractions listed above, making barley beta-glucan products more available for the consumer. This will further make it easier to reach the recommended daily intake of cereal beta-glucan.
Project Results:
Description of the main S&T results/foregrounds
For the BARLEYboost project to be successful, different barley varieties and barley properties were studied before selection of two different barley varieties. In addition, to develop a new milling process, milling techniques as well as barley structure are important. As other cereal grains, barley grain is composed of a number of tissues with specific structure and composition. Components are not equally distributed in this complex structure and their distribution is varying among grain tissues. This will influence their milling properties. INRA studied the barley structure in more detail. Meticulous hand dissection of barley grain and further dissection under a microscope allowed the separation of tissues to give homogeneous preparations. By comparing with known barley grain anatomy and microscopic observations at VTT, the hand dissected tissues were identified. Hand dissection at INRA allowed isolation of four different samples: pure lemma, pure palea, a composite layer made of the inner pericarp (cross cells) and testa, and a second composite layer made of the aleurone layer and the nucellar epidermis (Figure 1 -see Attached pdf). The separated tissues were send for microscopic observations (VTT) and chemical analysis (Nofima) to confirm the distribution of tissue layer types and analyses of biochemical markers.
Figure 1 Cross sections of isolated barley tissue layers A) lemma, B) palea, C) a composite pericarp and testa and D) aleurone with part of subaleurone stained with Acid Fuchsin and Calcofluor. Acid Fuchsin stains protein red and Calcofluor stains cellulose and β-glucan blue. However, cutin layers are also seen as red/orange and outer grain layers as brownish yellow due to autofluorescence.
In order to perform continuous product or process control, rapid analytical techniques are required. Today, no such monitoring system of barley testing during milling is in use. Traditional chemical methods typically require several hours (or in some cases days), and such a time span is rarely applicable in modern production. Spectroscopic instrumentation has gained popularity in processing industries during the last 2-3 decades, being rapid, reliable and often non-destructive analytical techniques.
In the BARLEYboost project different barley pearling fractions, based on different pearling times, were produced to discover the optimal pearling time needed to remove the hull without removing aleurone layer. This was controlled by analysing different specific chemical compounds (Nofima). The data obtained was further used as the basis for calibration of the monitoring tool. By combining a lot of different reference chemical analyses as well as NIR and fluorescence measurements (on a large amount of different barley flours and fractions) in combination with data analysis secured the development of new and different spectroscopic models (Figure 2 -see Attached pdf) (Nofima). A rapid and non-destructive spectroscopic method was developed to measure the aleurone content in dust fractions of barley. The method enables tuning of pearling process to maximize amount of flour and minimize waste as well as Extraction of fractions with high aleurone content. In addition were spectroscopic models for specific chemical components developed: NIR methods for beta-glucan and starch contents have been established in the BARLEYboost project (Nofima).
Figure 2 Varying degree of pearled barley kernels and their measured NIR spectra
Milling and fractionation of barley
The gained knowledge from above was valuable and significant for the development of the BARLEYboost milling concept with monitoring tool.
Barley milling is challenging due to presence of the hull, which is tightly adhered to the kernel. In order to produce food ingredients or flour from barley, this hull needs to be separated from the rest of the barley kernel. Milling companies remove up to 50% of the barley kernel in the abrasion process. This produces a high amount of waste fraction and deteriorate the nutritional value of the resulting barley flour. The BARLEYboost milling concept seek to reduce this by optimizing the pearling degree to a minimum based on the results from the microscopy measurements and the chemical analyses to produce a pearled whole grain barley kernel. First pearling off around 6–7% or 12–13% of the whole kernel (VTT and Nofima) produced whole grain barley flours. A special microscopic staining method, developed for the visualisation of aleurone layer in pearled grains (VTT), showed that pearled whole grains had almost all the aleurone layer still attached to the grains with pearling degree of 12-13% (Figure 3 -see Attached pdf). Further, the lab-scale dehuller used had the same pearling principle as the large scale dehuller used at Stangeland Mølle, partner SME STA. Thus, the results obtained with the lab scale dehuller was important for the optimization of large scale barley pearling at SME STA.
By optimizing and reducing the pearling degree of barley kernels, the milling yield will increase and the waste fraction decrease.
Figure 3 Stereomicroscope pictures of the non-pearled (upper row) and pearled kernels (bottom row) of Olve and Marigold barley varieties. Pearlings were performed at Stangeland Mølle. The aleurone layer (blue colour) was visualised by a special microscopic technique based on the autofluorescence of phenolic substances in aleurone. White arrows indicate the positions where aleurone layer has been removed by pearling.
In modern processing, hammer mills and pin mills are used to grind whole-grain or pearled barley for direct use or prior to further processing. In essence, pin milling and hammer milling techniques are based on steel bars, hammers or pins. Pin mills do not utilize a screen as is the case with hammer mills, and pin mills produces a finer, more uniform grind with smaller flour particles. In BARLEYboost the pin mill was therefore preferred to use in the first step after pearling (Figure 4 -see Attached pdf). The result obtained with the small scale pin mill will be used to select the best settings for pilot scale pin milling.
Pin disc milling produced different whole grain barley flours of different quality by varying the rotor speeds and/or with repeating grinding (VTT). The higher pearling degree led to finer particles as majority of the hard and fibrous hull layer had been removed. The particle size distributions were logical as smaller particles were obtained with more intensive grinding. Also, based on Lab-colour values, the finer grinding increased the whiteness (L-value) and decreased red and yellow hues of the flours.
The developed BARLEYboost milling concept also included separation of the whole grain flour into different enriched flours (aleurone layer fraction, beta-glucan fraction, starch fraction and possible protein fraction). The BARLEYboost project managed to separate and collect the aleurone layer based on the special staining method developed for the visualisation of aleurone layer in pearled grains and findings of the optimal pearling degree in combination with a two-step pearling in lab scale. The recovery of aleurone-rich dust fraction was not possible in the industrial scale at Stangeland Mølle, so the scale-up of this concept was not possible in this project.
Based on the literature, air classification is the most efficient way of separating beta-glucan enriched fractions from barley and thus was selected as the main technique in the BARLEYboost project (Figure 4). Production of beta-glucan enriched fractions was first tested in small scale with different fractionation schemes using Minisplit air classifier (British Rema, UK) (VTT). The results showed the importance of optimal grinding intensity to dissociate the beta-glucan enriched cell walls from the starch rich endosperm particles. The results depended on barley varieties. Thus, not only the grinding intensity affects the beta-glucan values, but as indicated by microscopy, the strength of the cell wall is also important. Stronger cell walls might explain the better separation of beta-glucan as the cell walls were not so easily broken. Electrostatic separation was also tested. The highest beta-glucan content after air classified was 19.7%. Electrostatic separation increased the beta-glucan content up to 20.6%, but this was also very close to the content obtained earlier only with air classification.
Figure 4 Pin mill and the principle of air classification
The scale up tests gave some lower content of beta-glucan in the beta-glucan enriched fraction. Thus, the scale-up from pilot to industrial scale was not straightforward. The reason for the lower beta-glucan content might be the different batch of barley used, an inhomogeneous raw material, different classifier wheel and/or different kind of behaviour of barley material in large than smaller scale. Despite some lower concentration of beta-glucan in the fraction, the milling process worked and separated the barley flour into different fractions, producing enriched aleurone layer fraction, beta-glucan fraction, starch fraction and possible protein enriched fraction.
Product development
The BARLEYboost project has proven that the BARLEYboost milling process and BARLEYboost concept gives possibility to produce different flours and fractions enriched with different grain tissues and health components. These BARLEYboost milling products/fractions were implemented in product development at both the research partner Nofima and the SME’s to develop innovative food products. In addition, some of the new developed or modified barley products containing BARLEYboost ingredients were tested for consumer preferences and product acceptability.
In addition to the main goal, the implications of the BARLEYboost product development should also involve:
1. Produce barley products with higher content of barley beta-glucan
2. Make barley beta-glucan products more available for the consumer
3. Make it easier for the consumer to reach recommended daily intake of beta-glucan
4. Find tools to improve consumer acceptability for barley color and taste
Different challenges occur by incorporating different BARLEYboost ingredients into products due to different properties of the different milling fractions. These can be technological, processing or sensory challenges.
The normal approach or solution to reach and include the criteria above has been to focus on one product and include a high amount of beta-glucan in this one product to get a health claim. Normally the product is a traditional product, such as bread. As mentioned, this will give different challenges often resulting in a deteriorated product quality. Thus, often bakeries are reluctant and unwilling to spend valuable time on product development on these issues.
Further, the health claim is based on a recommended intake of beta-glucan per day and not per product. Therefore, in BARLEYboost we thought differently. Why not turn it around; Instead of one product with a high content of beta-glucan, we developed and incorporated some beta-glucan in many different new innovative daily products (different types of products adapted to different meals (breakfast, lunch, between meals, snack, dinner and evening meal). This achieved better distribution of beta-glucan throughout the day, increased the use of barley for human consumption, and included more beta-glucan in a daily diet. This further provides the consumer with a larger range and variations of different beta-glucan included products, making barley beta-glucan products more available for the consumer. Thus, also making it easier for the consumer to reach the recommended daily intake. In addition, many possible challenges are avoided or minimized.
In summary, the product development, done in the BARLEYboost, project shows great potential for new products containing barley flours and fractions. Creativity and be able to “think out of the box” are important features in innovation and product development (Figure 5 -see Attached pdf).
Figure 5 Examples of different creative BARLEYboost products (Nofima)
New insight studies on consumers’ preferences done in the project showed potential for new innovative barley products. People do like and accept barley products and there is a market for these kind of products. It further showed that information is important and information to the costumer can be a key as it influences peoples’ choices and preferences. However, new products must meet the end-users preferences and as the cereal industry is a commodity business with low margins, the costs must secure an optimum profit.
In short, new food products developed by using the BARLEYboost milling products/fractions secure a high content of beta-glucan per day, make barley beta-glucan product more available as well as help the consumer to reach the recommended daily intake more easily - giving happy healthy consumers.
New products and market potential developed and gained in the BARLEYboost project
As seen, many new opportunities and new products have rised from the BARLEYboost project:
New food products developed in the BARLEYboost project
1) High quality barley milling products
a) Pearled barley (with higher content of health components)
b) Whole grain barley flour (with higher content of health components)
c) Enriched barley beta-glucan fraction
d) Enriched barley protein fraction
e) Enriched barley starch fraction
f) Barley aleurone layer fraction (potential as health product due to high amounts of micronutrients
(minerals), fiber and phytochemicals (antioxidants/polyphenols)
2) Used these as ingredients to produce additional different new bakery/food products, for example
a) Breads, pasta, or meal components such as barley rice.
b) Incorporate them into other segments producing tasty and healthy snacks, biscuits/cookies or cakes
c) Other barley products with high content of barley beta-glucan providing health claim labelling
There are multiple possibilities of new food products in the BARLEYboost project; either as substitutions of other grains or cereals with barley, added ingredients to produce barley products containing the recommended beta-glucan content in one serving, as barley products with extra fibre, and/or even using the different fractions towards other product groups like, sauces, toppings, icings, fillings etc. A wide diversity of products have been produced in the BARLEYboost project.
New products or markets ideas generated in the project are available exclusively for the BARLEYboost partners at a secure idea database (http://barleyboost.ideascale.com) and which is only accessible for the BARLEYboost members.
Other innovations gained through the BARLEYboost project
1) New design specification and retrofitting solutions of the milling technology
2) Development of monitoring tools for analysis and control of the barley pearling process (during milling), flour quality analysis, and for end product quality
a) Rapid on-line monitoring tool for continuous process control
b) Rapid analytical methods for analysing important contents and securing product quality
In order to perform continuous product or process control, there is a large market potential for rapid nondestructive analytical techniques.
During the project period, the BARLEYboost project has delivered all 17 deliverables on time (except for one). All the work packages (WP1-8) are successfully completed with all tasks and milestone.
For more details, see the technical reports (deliverables).
Potential Impact:
Potential impact and main dissemination activities and exploitation of results
This project improved the competitive position of the SME participants by creating a strong supply chain for the BARLEYboost milling concept that has a large market potential in the agro-food sector. As a primary aim, this project, with its developed milling concept, has shown the possibility to increase the capacity of milling company (STA) and help to increase the usage of barley and reduce waste by better process management during barley milling. The market for barley can further be increased by dividing the barley kernel into different barley flour fractions using the barley milling process. As SMEs we have increased our competitiveness through this project and created an opportunity to expand and consolidate our position for the future.
The BARLEYboost project has developed a monitoring tool in combination with milling technology that improves process management for the flour milling industry, creates sustainable and profitable business growth and provides its SME participants with specific knowledge, technology and products that will enable them to further differentiation and strengthening of their competitive position relative to global competitors. Today, no such monitoring system of barley testing during milling is in use.
Identification of BARLEYboost impacts and benefits
Increase the usage of barley
The BARLEYbooost project have shown the potential of a wider range of application for barley. Thus, with a higher potential for higher demands of barley as a food grain;
a) Increase the usage of barley (possible by 100 000 tonnes per year, thus from 350 000 to 450 000 ton)
b) Increase the capacity of the mills by ca. 20% making the milling more profitable
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have approved a health claim for cereal beta-glucan, and it has been demonstrated that 3g and 4g beta-glucan per day reduces blood cholesterol and blood sugar rise after a meal. This has the potential to increase the demand and usage of barley. Strong promotional and marketing campaigns will be needed for the food producers and consumers to make them sufficiently aware, and wish to produce/purchase products with beta-glucan. This is a result of BARLEYboost being a typical technology push product and not a demand-pull.
By dividing the barley kernel into different barley flour fractions using the BARLEYboost milling concept, the market for barley can further be increased and a range of new barley products can be produced. Barley can further substitute other grains or cereals in many products, and there is the possibility to include barley where consumers or food producers see benefits in terms of cost, nutrition, and organoleptic properties. For example in soup (starch) as thickening ingredient, in bread as fibre ingredient and as a protein contribution in products for elderly and athletics. Barley is a cheaper raw material compared with other grains. Barley is a cheaper raw material compared with other grains. With an increased demand for barley, farmers could increase their profit by producing special barley varieties for human consumption. We believe consumers will pay more for a healthier end products containing barley. This will be of economical interest for the SME’s: MAC, RAA and PATS.
Increasing the capacity of milling companies.
Today the average use of capacity is about 65% for SME7 STA, which is typical for mills across the EU. The BARLEYboost milling concept increased the capacity. By reducing the waste to 15% (instead of 40%), the milling yield will increase from 600 kg per ton, to 850 kg per ton. An increase of 250 kg per ton (25%). Further, increased human consumption of barley, following an appropriate marketing and consumer education activities by millers and bakeries, will increase the demand for barley milling fractions and thereby increase the miller’s use of capacity. This makes milling more profitable and opens for more product innovation.
Reducing the waste.
Reduction in waste is expected to;
a) Increase the extraction rate of the flour and thus the yield of the milling providing an economical profit for millers in Europe (with possibility of over 18 million Euros).
b) Less waste disposal (5 Euro savings per ton)
Most barley milling companies remove on average 40 % using abrasion during processing of the barley grain. Today pearling flour or waste is used as feed or fuel for heating, which has no or a very small economic value for the mills. The BARLEYboost milling concept has decreased the barley waste from 40% to only 15%. Thus, by removing only 15 % instead of 40% of the barley kernel by pearling, the reduction of the waste is over 60 %. This will increase the sustainability for the barley value chain. This will increase profit margin for SME milling partner since we will be able to sell 25% more barley fractions and save money as the solid waste does not have to be disposed. The environmental impact is that today’s waste will be included in the new milling fractions.
Monitoring of barley milling processing.
New design and retro-fitting of the milling technology in combination with introduction of on-line/atline monitoring for continuous process control and development of rapid analytical methods will give economic benefits for instrument and equipment suppliers by sale and maintenance.
Using the developed monitoring tool will make it possibly for millers to control blocking/pearling and the production of aleurone layer, enriched beta-glucan, starch and protein fractions (STA, MAC). The analyses of the various fractions are time consuming and costly without a proper monitoring tool at site. In addition, with the developed BARLEYboost monitoring barley millers can analyse each batch of barley, to be able to obtain optimal performance during BARLEYboost milling.
Product development.
Production of new products
a) New high quality barley milling products
- Pearled barley (with higher content of health components)
- Whole grain barley flour (with higher content of health components)
- Enriched barley beta-glucan fraction
- Enriched barley protein fraction
- Enriched barley starch fraction
- Barley aleurone layer fraction (potential as health product due to high amounts of micronutrients
(minerals), fiber and phytochemicals (antioxidants/polyphenols)
b) New food products
Product development techniques has been used as an integrated tool in collaboration between the SME’s, RTD’s to improve and develop new consumer products including new barley milling fractions. The product development done in the BARLEYboost project shows great potential for new products containing barley flours and fractions. The fractionation of the barley kernel into different barley flour fractions and other milling products are expected to give increased price. Thus, depending on the market, this further increases the profit margin for European millers and it has the potential of an economical advantage of millions of Euros.
Also, new food products are expected to obtain 20-25% higher price for final consumer products an approved EFSA health claim. The exact profit will depend on type of product developed.
Other or additional benefits
Positive environment impact due to less waste and this reduction reduces emissions of CI, C02, NOx, Sox and VOCs given off by conventional burning of the waste.
Bakery products are well-established components of the ”global meal”, and the high barley products will benefit from being part of a well-known product category. This makes the market introduction more efficient and easier to gain volumes in shorter time.
Another aspect is the health benefits from using barley. The “whole grain concept” promotes the consumption of all the components of the grains. Production of tasty products with high level of health promoting component and potential for a health claim will further provide the consumer with the possibility to reach the recommended daily intake of beta-glucan (3g/day) more easily. Ultimately, the consumer will benefit from a healthier product.
The SMEs will also gain the opportunity to increase our perceived value to customers as strategic supply partners with innovative product development capabilities.
BARLEYboost will help to advance the agricultural sector and the barley value chain towards greater sustainability.
The BARLEYboost concept have shown a large market potential in the agri-food sector. The SME participants have gained opportunities to expand and consolidate their position for the future and remain competitive by pushing the food industry forward and give Europe much healthier bakery products that can prevent obesity and lifestyle diseases.
It is important to remember that the BARLEYboost project has generated different market potentials and benefits for the different SMEs. However, the SMEs are responsible for the exploitation of these potentials.
List of Websites:
www.barleyboost.eu
The BARLEYboost project will develop a monitoring tool in combination with milling technology that improves process management for the flour milling industry, creates sustainable and profitable business growth and provides its SME participants with specific knowledge, technology and products that will enable them to further differentiation and strengthening of their competitive position relative to global competitors.
The consortium has been inter-sectorial, and multidisciplinary, involving partners representing different European countries. The research work, carried out on behalf of the SMEs, by the RTD Performers; Nofima (Norway), VTT (Finland) and INRA (France), experts in cereal chemistry, cereal technology, rapid analysis technology, health benefits of barley foods and product development techniques. The SMEs in the consortium included Stangeland Mølle STA (Norway) as a mill, Macphie of Glenbervie MAC (UK) an ingredient supplier and two bakeries; Råde Bakeri RAA (Norway) and PATS bakery in Estonia. Perten Instruments Group (PER) has given input to the project as an equipment manufacturing enterprise for measuring quality components in flour.
The BARLEYboost project had three overall aims: 1) to develop monitoring tools for analysis and control of the barley pearling process (during milling), for flour quality analysis, and for end product quality, 2) to develop an innovative barley milling process to enrich different grain tissues and health components, and 3) to develop new food products by using barley fractions.
The project has given several significant results:
- A rapid monitoring tool has been developed based on NIR (near infrared) spectroscopy. This can maximize the amount of flour and minimize the amount of pearling dust, thus controlling the yield and quality of the whole grain barley flour.
- A milling procedure for additional fractionation of enriched beta-glucan, starch or protein fractions has been provided increasing the range of application as well as the potential of barley as a food grain.
- A rapid and non-destructive spectroscopic method has been developed to measure the amount of starch and beta-glucan in barley flour and fractions.
- A wide diversity of barley products have been developed using different barley fractions. Many different barley products makes barley beta-glucan more available for the consumer as well as makes it easier to reach recommended daily intake of beta-glucan.
The project has enabled competitive advantages for the participating SME’s by increasing their knowledge about barley varieties, barley grain composition, barley tissues, health-promoting component, controllability of barley milling and different barley milling processes as well as product development techniques.
Project Context and Objectives:
Description of project context and objectives
Overall BARLEYboost project strategy and general description
Milling companies remove up to 50% of the barley kernel in the abrasion process. This produces a high amount of waste fraction and deteriorate the nutritional value of the resulting barley flour. Further, barley is high in beta-glucan and beta-glucan is one of the few health components to achieve the ‘health claim approval’ by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). These challenges open up potential new markets for SMEs who wish to produce more barley, to develop a novel barley milling process, to produce whole grain barley flour and fractions with a higher level of health-promoting component than conventionally milled barley. Further, under-utilised mills in Europe could increase their milling capacity, reduce waste and create a competitive advantage in terms of diversifying milling and bakery product ranges.
The BARLEYboost project seeks to develop a new milling concept and thus new developments of new technology or new design for technology set up, new processes, new monitoring tools for control and analysis and new food products with a health focus. The research developments in the project will facilitate developments of new processes for SMEs, ensuring market driven solutions, increase their milling capacity, reduce waste and create a competitive advantage in terms of diversifying milling and bakery product ranges. It will create opportunities for equipment manufacturers to develop and sell new monitoring and milling systems. Bakeries could offer a diverse range of barley-based products, which will increase their profit margins. Ultimately, the consumer will benefit from a naturally produced healthier staple product.
Project objectives
The implications of the BARLEYboost improved and optimized milling concept involves:
1. Increased yield by reducing the amount of pearling flour (waste) by 25 % by identification of suitable biochemical markers for the different grain tissues and thus development and establishment of a rapid online method for continuous monitoring of the pearling process in order to achieve optimal separation of the hull from the layers beneath, thus having full process control.
2. Preservation of beneficial components by reducing the pearling degree
3. Development of monitoring tools for analysis and control of the barley pearling process (during milling), flour quality analysis, and for end product quality
4. Unique barley milling processes for increasing yield and enrichment of different grain tissues and health components
5. New milling products. The innovative barley milling process will produce whole grain barley flour, aleurone layer fraction flour and barley milling fractions enriched with beta-glucan, starch and protein.
6. New food products developed by using the barley milling products/fractions listed above, making barley beta-glucan products more available for the consumer. This will further make it easier to reach the recommended daily intake of cereal beta-glucan.
Project Results:
Description of the main S&T results/foregrounds
For the BARLEYboost project to be successful, different barley varieties and barley properties were studied before selection of two different barley varieties. In addition, to develop a new milling process, milling techniques as well as barley structure are important. As other cereal grains, barley grain is composed of a number of tissues with specific structure and composition. Components are not equally distributed in this complex structure and their distribution is varying among grain tissues. This will influence their milling properties. INRA studied the barley structure in more detail. Meticulous hand dissection of barley grain and further dissection under a microscope allowed the separation of tissues to give homogeneous preparations. By comparing with known barley grain anatomy and microscopic observations at VTT, the hand dissected tissues were identified. Hand dissection at INRA allowed isolation of four different samples: pure lemma, pure palea, a composite layer made of the inner pericarp (cross cells) and testa, and a second composite layer made of the aleurone layer and the nucellar epidermis (Figure 1 -see Attached pdf). The separated tissues were send for microscopic observations (VTT) and chemical analysis (Nofima) to confirm the distribution of tissue layer types and analyses of biochemical markers.
Figure 1 Cross sections of isolated barley tissue layers A) lemma, B) palea, C) a composite pericarp and testa and D) aleurone with part of subaleurone stained with Acid Fuchsin and Calcofluor. Acid Fuchsin stains protein red and Calcofluor stains cellulose and β-glucan blue. However, cutin layers are also seen as red/orange and outer grain layers as brownish yellow due to autofluorescence.
In order to perform continuous product or process control, rapid analytical techniques are required. Today, no such monitoring system of barley testing during milling is in use. Traditional chemical methods typically require several hours (or in some cases days), and such a time span is rarely applicable in modern production. Spectroscopic instrumentation has gained popularity in processing industries during the last 2-3 decades, being rapid, reliable and often non-destructive analytical techniques.
In the BARLEYboost project different barley pearling fractions, based on different pearling times, were produced to discover the optimal pearling time needed to remove the hull without removing aleurone layer. This was controlled by analysing different specific chemical compounds (Nofima). The data obtained was further used as the basis for calibration of the monitoring tool. By combining a lot of different reference chemical analyses as well as NIR and fluorescence measurements (on a large amount of different barley flours and fractions) in combination with data analysis secured the development of new and different spectroscopic models (Figure 2 -see Attached pdf) (Nofima). A rapid and non-destructive spectroscopic method was developed to measure the aleurone content in dust fractions of barley. The method enables tuning of pearling process to maximize amount of flour and minimize waste as well as Extraction of fractions with high aleurone content. In addition were spectroscopic models for specific chemical components developed: NIR methods for beta-glucan and starch contents have been established in the BARLEYboost project (Nofima).
Figure 2 Varying degree of pearled barley kernels and their measured NIR spectra
Milling and fractionation of barley
The gained knowledge from above was valuable and significant for the development of the BARLEYboost milling concept with monitoring tool.
Barley milling is challenging due to presence of the hull, which is tightly adhered to the kernel. In order to produce food ingredients or flour from barley, this hull needs to be separated from the rest of the barley kernel. Milling companies remove up to 50% of the barley kernel in the abrasion process. This produces a high amount of waste fraction and deteriorate the nutritional value of the resulting barley flour. The BARLEYboost milling concept seek to reduce this by optimizing the pearling degree to a minimum based on the results from the microscopy measurements and the chemical analyses to produce a pearled whole grain barley kernel. First pearling off around 6–7% or 12–13% of the whole kernel (VTT and Nofima) produced whole grain barley flours. A special microscopic staining method, developed for the visualisation of aleurone layer in pearled grains (VTT), showed that pearled whole grains had almost all the aleurone layer still attached to the grains with pearling degree of 12-13% (Figure 3 -see Attached pdf). Further, the lab-scale dehuller used had the same pearling principle as the large scale dehuller used at Stangeland Mølle, partner SME STA. Thus, the results obtained with the lab scale dehuller was important for the optimization of large scale barley pearling at SME STA.
By optimizing and reducing the pearling degree of barley kernels, the milling yield will increase and the waste fraction decrease.
Figure 3 Stereomicroscope pictures of the non-pearled (upper row) and pearled kernels (bottom row) of Olve and Marigold barley varieties. Pearlings were performed at Stangeland Mølle. The aleurone layer (blue colour) was visualised by a special microscopic technique based on the autofluorescence of phenolic substances in aleurone. White arrows indicate the positions where aleurone layer has been removed by pearling.
In modern processing, hammer mills and pin mills are used to grind whole-grain or pearled barley for direct use or prior to further processing. In essence, pin milling and hammer milling techniques are based on steel bars, hammers or pins. Pin mills do not utilize a screen as is the case with hammer mills, and pin mills produces a finer, more uniform grind with smaller flour particles. In BARLEYboost the pin mill was therefore preferred to use in the first step after pearling (Figure 4 -see Attached pdf). The result obtained with the small scale pin mill will be used to select the best settings for pilot scale pin milling.
Pin disc milling produced different whole grain barley flours of different quality by varying the rotor speeds and/or with repeating grinding (VTT). The higher pearling degree led to finer particles as majority of the hard and fibrous hull layer had been removed. The particle size distributions were logical as smaller particles were obtained with more intensive grinding. Also, based on Lab-colour values, the finer grinding increased the whiteness (L-value) and decreased red and yellow hues of the flours.
The developed BARLEYboost milling concept also included separation of the whole grain flour into different enriched flours (aleurone layer fraction, beta-glucan fraction, starch fraction and possible protein fraction). The BARLEYboost project managed to separate and collect the aleurone layer based on the special staining method developed for the visualisation of aleurone layer in pearled grains and findings of the optimal pearling degree in combination with a two-step pearling in lab scale. The recovery of aleurone-rich dust fraction was not possible in the industrial scale at Stangeland Mølle, so the scale-up of this concept was not possible in this project.
Based on the literature, air classification is the most efficient way of separating beta-glucan enriched fractions from barley and thus was selected as the main technique in the BARLEYboost project (Figure 4). Production of beta-glucan enriched fractions was first tested in small scale with different fractionation schemes using Minisplit air classifier (British Rema, UK) (VTT). The results showed the importance of optimal grinding intensity to dissociate the beta-glucan enriched cell walls from the starch rich endosperm particles. The results depended on barley varieties. Thus, not only the grinding intensity affects the beta-glucan values, but as indicated by microscopy, the strength of the cell wall is also important. Stronger cell walls might explain the better separation of beta-glucan as the cell walls were not so easily broken. Electrostatic separation was also tested. The highest beta-glucan content after air classified was 19.7%. Electrostatic separation increased the beta-glucan content up to 20.6%, but this was also very close to the content obtained earlier only with air classification.
Figure 4 Pin mill and the principle of air classification
The scale up tests gave some lower content of beta-glucan in the beta-glucan enriched fraction. Thus, the scale-up from pilot to industrial scale was not straightforward. The reason for the lower beta-glucan content might be the different batch of barley used, an inhomogeneous raw material, different classifier wheel and/or different kind of behaviour of barley material in large than smaller scale. Despite some lower concentration of beta-glucan in the fraction, the milling process worked and separated the barley flour into different fractions, producing enriched aleurone layer fraction, beta-glucan fraction, starch fraction and possible protein enriched fraction.
Product development
The BARLEYboost project has proven that the BARLEYboost milling process and BARLEYboost concept gives possibility to produce different flours and fractions enriched with different grain tissues and health components. These BARLEYboost milling products/fractions were implemented in product development at both the research partner Nofima and the SME’s to develop innovative food products. In addition, some of the new developed or modified barley products containing BARLEYboost ingredients were tested for consumer preferences and product acceptability.
In addition to the main goal, the implications of the BARLEYboost product development should also involve:
1. Produce barley products with higher content of barley beta-glucan
2. Make barley beta-glucan products more available for the consumer
3. Make it easier for the consumer to reach recommended daily intake of beta-glucan
4. Find tools to improve consumer acceptability for barley color and taste
Different challenges occur by incorporating different BARLEYboost ingredients into products due to different properties of the different milling fractions. These can be technological, processing or sensory challenges.
The normal approach or solution to reach and include the criteria above has been to focus on one product and include a high amount of beta-glucan in this one product to get a health claim. Normally the product is a traditional product, such as bread. As mentioned, this will give different challenges often resulting in a deteriorated product quality. Thus, often bakeries are reluctant and unwilling to spend valuable time on product development on these issues.
Further, the health claim is based on a recommended intake of beta-glucan per day and not per product. Therefore, in BARLEYboost we thought differently. Why not turn it around; Instead of one product with a high content of beta-glucan, we developed and incorporated some beta-glucan in many different new innovative daily products (different types of products adapted to different meals (breakfast, lunch, between meals, snack, dinner and evening meal). This achieved better distribution of beta-glucan throughout the day, increased the use of barley for human consumption, and included more beta-glucan in a daily diet. This further provides the consumer with a larger range and variations of different beta-glucan included products, making barley beta-glucan products more available for the consumer. Thus, also making it easier for the consumer to reach the recommended daily intake. In addition, many possible challenges are avoided or minimized.
In summary, the product development, done in the BARLEYboost, project shows great potential for new products containing barley flours and fractions. Creativity and be able to “think out of the box” are important features in innovation and product development (Figure 5 -see Attached pdf).
Figure 5 Examples of different creative BARLEYboost products (Nofima)
New insight studies on consumers’ preferences done in the project showed potential for new innovative barley products. People do like and accept barley products and there is a market for these kind of products. It further showed that information is important and information to the costumer can be a key as it influences peoples’ choices and preferences. However, new products must meet the end-users preferences and as the cereal industry is a commodity business with low margins, the costs must secure an optimum profit.
In short, new food products developed by using the BARLEYboost milling products/fractions secure a high content of beta-glucan per day, make barley beta-glucan product more available as well as help the consumer to reach the recommended daily intake more easily - giving happy healthy consumers.
New products and market potential developed and gained in the BARLEYboost project
As seen, many new opportunities and new products have rised from the BARLEYboost project:
New food products developed in the BARLEYboost project
1) High quality barley milling products
a) Pearled barley (with higher content of health components)
b) Whole grain barley flour (with higher content of health components)
c) Enriched barley beta-glucan fraction
d) Enriched barley protein fraction
e) Enriched barley starch fraction
f) Barley aleurone layer fraction (potential as health product due to high amounts of micronutrients
(minerals), fiber and phytochemicals (antioxidants/polyphenols)
2) Used these as ingredients to produce additional different new bakery/food products, for example
a) Breads, pasta, or meal components such as barley rice.
b) Incorporate them into other segments producing tasty and healthy snacks, biscuits/cookies or cakes
c) Other barley products with high content of barley beta-glucan providing health claim labelling
There are multiple possibilities of new food products in the BARLEYboost project; either as substitutions of other grains or cereals with barley, added ingredients to produce barley products containing the recommended beta-glucan content in one serving, as barley products with extra fibre, and/or even using the different fractions towards other product groups like, sauces, toppings, icings, fillings etc. A wide diversity of products have been produced in the BARLEYboost project.
New products or markets ideas generated in the project are available exclusively for the BARLEYboost partners at a secure idea database (http://barleyboost.ideascale.com) and which is only accessible for the BARLEYboost members.
Other innovations gained through the BARLEYboost project
1) New design specification and retrofitting solutions of the milling technology
2) Development of monitoring tools for analysis and control of the barley pearling process (during milling), flour quality analysis, and for end product quality
a) Rapid on-line monitoring tool for continuous process control
b) Rapid analytical methods for analysing important contents and securing product quality
In order to perform continuous product or process control, there is a large market potential for rapid nondestructive analytical techniques.
During the project period, the BARLEYboost project has delivered all 17 deliverables on time (except for one). All the work packages (WP1-8) are successfully completed with all tasks and milestone.
For more details, see the technical reports (deliverables).
Potential Impact:
Potential impact and main dissemination activities and exploitation of results
This project improved the competitive position of the SME participants by creating a strong supply chain for the BARLEYboost milling concept that has a large market potential in the agro-food sector. As a primary aim, this project, with its developed milling concept, has shown the possibility to increase the capacity of milling company (STA) and help to increase the usage of barley and reduce waste by better process management during barley milling. The market for barley can further be increased by dividing the barley kernel into different barley flour fractions using the barley milling process. As SMEs we have increased our competitiveness through this project and created an opportunity to expand and consolidate our position for the future.
The BARLEYboost project has developed a monitoring tool in combination with milling technology that improves process management for the flour milling industry, creates sustainable and profitable business growth and provides its SME participants with specific knowledge, technology and products that will enable them to further differentiation and strengthening of their competitive position relative to global competitors. Today, no such monitoring system of barley testing during milling is in use.
Identification of BARLEYboost impacts and benefits
Increase the usage of barley
The BARLEYbooost project have shown the potential of a wider range of application for barley. Thus, with a higher potential for higher demands of barley as a food grain;
a) Increase the usage of barley (possible by 100 000 tonnes per year, thus from 350 000 to 450 000 ton)
b) Increase the capacity of the mills by ca. 20% making the milling more profitable
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have approved a health claim for cereal beta-glucan, and it has been demonstrated that 3g and 4g beta-glucan per day reduces blood cholesterol and blood sugar rise after a meal. This has the potential to increase the demand and usage of barley. Strong promotional and marketing campaigns will be needed for the food producers and consumers to make them sufficiently aware, and wish to produce/purchase products with beta-glucan. This is a result of BARLEYboost being a typical technology push product and not a demand-pull.
By dividing the barley kernel into different barley flour fractions using the BARLEYboost milling concept, the market for barley can further be increased and a range of new barley products can be produced. Barley can further substitute other grains or cereals in many products, and there is the possibility to include barley where consumers or food producers see benefits in terms of cost, nutrition, and organoleptic properties. For example in soup (starch) as thickening ingredient, in bread as fibre ingredient and as a protein contribution in products for elderly and athletics. Barley is a cheaper raw material compared with other grains. Barley is a cheaper raw material compared with other grains. With an increased demand for barley, farmers could increase their profit by producing special barley varieties for human consumption. We believe consumers will pay more for a healthier end products containing barley. This will be of economical interest for the SME’s: MAC, RAA and PATS.
Increasing the capacity of milling companies.
Today the average use of capacity is about 65% for SME7 STA, which is typical for mills across the EU. The BARLEYboost milling concept increased the capacity. By reducing the waste to 15% (instead of 40%), the milling yield will increase from 600 kg per ton, to 850 kg per ton. An increase of 250 kg per ton (25%). Further, increased human consumption of barley, following an appropriate marketing and consumer education activities by millers and bakeries, will increase the demand for barley milling fractions and thereby increase the miller’s use of capacity. This makes milling more profitable and opens for more product innovation.
Reducing the waste.
Reduction in waste is expected to;
a) Increase the extraction rate of the flour and thus the yield of the milling providing an economical profit for millers in Europe (with possibility of over 18 million Euros).
b) Less waste disposal (5 Euro savings per ton)
Most barley milling companies remove on average 40 % using abrasion during processing of the barley grain. Today pearling flour or waste is used as feed or fuel for heating, which has no or a very small economic value for the mills. The BARLEYboost milling concept has decreased the barley waste from 40% to only 15%. Thus, by removing only 15 % instead of 40% of the barley kernel by pearling, the reduction of the waste is over 60 %. This will increase the sustainability for the barley value chain. This will increase profit margin for SME milling partner since we will be able to sell 25% more barley fractions and save money as the solid waste does not have to be disposed. The environmental impact is that today’s waste will be included in the new milling fractions.
Monitoring of barley milling processing.
New design and retro-fitting of the milling technology in combination with introduction of on-line/atline monitoring for continuous process control and development of rapid analytical methods will give economic benefits for instrument and equipment suppliers by sale and maintenance.
Using the developed monitoring tool will make it possibly for millers to control blocking/pearling and the production of aleurone layer, enriched beta-glucan, starch and protein fractions (STA, MAC). The analyses of the various fractions are time consuming and costly without a proper monitoring tool at site. In addition, with the developed BARLEYboost monitoring barley millers can analyse each batch of barley, to be able to obtain optimal performance during BARLEYboost milling.
Product development.
Production of new products
a) New high quality barley milling products
- Pearled barley (with higher content of health components)
- Whole grain barley flour (with higher content of health components)
- Enriched barley beta-glucan fraction
- Enriched barley protein fraction
- Enriched barley starch fraction
- Barley aleurone layer fraction (potential as health product due to high amounts of micronutrients
(minerals), fiber and phytochemicals (antioxidants/polyphenols)
b) New food products
Product development techniques has been used as an integrated tool in collaboration between the SME’s, RTD’s to improve and develop new consumer products including new barley milling fractions. The product development done in the BARLEYboost project shows great potential for new products containing barley flours and fractions. The fractionation of the barley kernel into different barley flour fractions and other milling products are expected to give increased price. Thus, depending on the market, this further increases the profit margin for European millers and it has the potential of an economical advantage of millions of Euros.
Also, new food products are expected to obtain 20-25% higher price for final consumer products an approved EFSA health claim. The exact profit will depend on type of product developed.
Other or additional benefits
Positive environment impact due to less waste and this reduction reduces emissions of CI, C02, NOx, Sox and VOCs given off by conventional burning of the waste.
Bakery products are well-established components of the ”global meal”, and the high barley products will benefit from being part of a well-known product category. This makes the market introduction more efficient and easier to gain volumes in shorter time.
Another aspect is the health benefits from using barley. The “whole grain concept” promotes the consumption of all the components of the grains. Production of tasty products with high level of health promoting component and potential for a health claim will further provide the consumer with the possibility to reach the recommended daily intake of beta-glucan (3g/day) more easily. Ultimately, the consumer will benefit from a healthier product.
The SMEs will also gain the opportunity to increase our perceived value to customers as strategic supply partners with innovative product development capabilities.
BARLEYboost will help to advance the agricultural sector and the barley value chain towards greater sustainability.
The BARLEYboost concept have shown a large market potential in the agri-food sector. The SME participants have gained opportunities to expand and consolidate their position for the future and remain competitive by pushing the food industry forward and give Europe much healthier bakery products that can prevent obesity and lifestyle diseases.
It is important to remember that the BARLEYboost project has generated different market potentials and benefits for the different SMEs. However, the SMEs are responsible for the exploitation of these potentials.
List of Websites:
www.barleyboost.eu