In 2010 we completed the construction of a new laboratory. It is equipped with the latest equipment and allows full control over raw materials and finished product. The laboratory can be divided into two parts: the first part is the entrance control intended for the control of raw materials, and in the second part the quality of flours is controlled. The entrance control of raw materials is of special importance for the company; it is performed very strictly and on a high level. For this purpose, the company uses recognized methods for quality control. Prior to the scattering of the delivered wheat, a certain amount of wheat (sample) is taken with a probe, and the following controls are performed: Presence of pest – The first and extremely important control for the company is the presence of pest. A certain amount of wheat is sifted in a suitable sieve. The sifted quantity is then controlled for the presence of: lice, sitophilus granarius… |
Presence of humidity and hectoliter mass – Pfeuffer – Granomat The amount of humidity present in wheat is a very important factor for the storing and further use of wheat. The maximum quantity of humidity allowed by the company is 14%, as a too humid wheat grain can become rotten already after only a few days. Determination of protein: PerCon – Inframatic 8100: used for the determination of protein by Kjeldahl method of N * 5.7 Falling number: Perten – Falling number 1800 used to determine the falling numbers Breaking and alloys – the wheat grains can be damaged already on a field before harvesting, during harvesting, in the time of drying, manipulation and storing. Such grains can seriously harm the quality of flour. If wheat or the delivered raw material has satisfied the control criteria, the next step is weighing and storing in elevators. We also need to add that no matter how large quantity of flour is ordered, each lorry is always controlled separately. |
As already mentioned before, the second part of the laboratory is the control of products. In this part, quality of flours is checked pursuant to standard methods too, but these analyses are more exacting. The following are some analyses that are carried out in our laboratory: Bona – Laboratory Mill Perten – Laboratory Mill 3100 Brabender – Farinograph: is a device on which features and control of dough during kneading are determined. Chopin – Alveograph PerCon – Inframatic Quality of gluten – if the flour contains more than 27% of it, we can undoubtedly claim it is a matter of high quality flour. Chopin – Infraneo: can be used for analysis of wheat and flour. The advantage of the machine is its speed and accuracy. It is based on the NIR method for the determination of the most basic parameters. |