A LABORATORY WET-MILLING PROCEDURE TO INCREASE REPRODUCIBILITY AND ACCURACY OF PRODUCT YIELDS

A study investigating the accuracy and reproducibility of a laboratory -scale wet-milling procedure was conducted using eight individuals wit h two levels of milling experience. Four individuals had extensive mil ling experience, and four had conducted a maximum of three replicate m illing runs as training. Process variables were strictly controlled as part of the standard operating procedure. Results showed no significa nt differences between the two groups of technicians for yields of ste epwater, germ, fiber, starch, gluten, and gluten filtrate (alpha = 0.0 5). Recovery of initial dry solids was above 98% for both groups, with protein content of the starch consistently below 0.4% (db) of the sta rch fraction. Controlling variations in operator techniques, process w ater inputs, and length of individual process stages had a noticeable affect on reducing the variability of milling yields.