SCIENCE
Next-generation bread quality assessment Assessment of quality is an essential part of the food manufacturing process. Whether part of a Quality Assurance (QA) system, where checks are made throughout the manufacturing process, or a Quality Control (QC) system system where checks are made on the finished product before it leaves the factory. The assessment of quality in regard to bread is a complex area, given the complex nature of bread!
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By: Michael Adams, Product Innovation Lead, Campden BRI
The quality of bread can be examined in a number of ways. Different bread types will have different characteristics to consider, as well as vastly different parameters within these characteristics. For example, an open structure bread, such as ciabatta, will require different quality parameters compared with a closed structure bread like a sandwich loaf.
process. An effective QA system means that the probability of a good quality finished product emerging from the manufacturing process is high. It also means that out-ofspecification products can be identified earlier in the manufacturing process, allowing corrections to be made and waste to be reduced.
Some parameters, such as crust appearance, aroma and flavor, are relatively easy to test using our senses. Trained staff can check these fall within expected parameters with little requirement for apparatus. Crumb color and structure, volume and texture, require either an experienced baker, or a relatively sophisticated apparatus, to identify what can be subtle differences or divergences from a specification. Even harder to discover are intermittent quality issues, such as holes and other internal faults, that can occur within breads with no externally visible quality changes at all. The dominance of large industrial bakeries means these faults can easily transform from intermittent to common, if equipment set up or ingredient quality are not within specification. This could result in hundreds or thousands of loaves with significant defects being sent to customers. Another aspect of quality that will be discussed in this article, is the detection of foreign objects within a loaf of bread. Foreign object complaints remain one of the largest sources of consumer dissatisfaction with food products. Metal complaints are rare, due to the widespread adoption of metal detectors within the industry, but there are a number of other sources of contamination that are non-metallic and therefore not detectable using these methods: stones, wood, plastic and glass. This article discusses a range of methods for assessing the quality of bread focusing primarily on online methods.
Online quality detection during processing Pre-baking As mentioned previously, the principle of QA is to analyze the product and production unit activities to ensure that Work In Progress (WIP), or par-made products are, and remain, within specification throughout the manufacturing
www.bakingbiscuit.com 03/2022
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