The Global Miller

April 15, 2013

Alapala

Establishing plants at any desired capacity, Alapala Machine is a company that exports 95 percent of its current production today and has hundreds of references in over 75 countries in 4 continents including developed industrial countries such as Belgium, France, Italy, Canada and U.S.A. Alapala continually develops and expands thanks to its superior technology infrastructure, perfectionist staff and management, and its quality and customer-oriented approach.
It renders best before-sales and after-sales services with its staff specialized in their industry, overseas representatives, strong service networks and spare-part stocks.
Alapala can manufacture quality and high performance machinery where the best efficiency ad products can be obtained in the production facilities that have the most developed and state-of-the art technology.
Click on the image to visit the Alapala website.

New! GFMT article: Steaming ahead

The first article from the new issue of GFMT is online now. Check it our in full here.

Thomas Stuecken, chairman, Offsprey Deepclean, United Kingdom talks us through the importance of cleaning in the mill.

Hygiene and food safety of raw materials and end products are vital in the grain and feed milling industry. Millers take great care to ensure processes meet all legislative and food safety requirements. At the same time, consumers expect food to be safe and are increasingly taking an interest in how their food is produced.

Read the full article here.

Steaming ahead

15/04/2013: Corn germ in swine diets; construction started on $11.2M grain facility; AFIA, KSU to offer feed safety online course

Inclusion of corn germ in swine diets can reduce diet costs, depending on the local cost of corn germ and other ingredients. Recent research conducted at the University of Illinois indicates that corn germ can be included at up to 30 percent in diets fed to growing pigs.

"In previous research, we had seen that pigs do very well on diets containing 10 percent corn germ, so we wanted to investigate if higher inclusion rates can be used," said Hans Stein, professor of animal sciences at Illinois.

The corn germ used in this study came from the ethanol, or dry grind, industry, and contained 16 to 18 percent fat. This product is different from the corn germ produced from the wet milling industry, which contains 30 to 40 percent fat.

Concord Grain Company, owned by Todd Ochsner, began construction on its new shuttle loading facility on April 1 and plans to open for business Sept. 15. The $11.2 million grain elevator with a 2-mile railroad loop track will be located about 6 miles west of Aberdeen on the north side of U.S. Highway 12.

Nearly all of the excavating work was completed last year, which is one of the reasons construction is expected to proceed rapidly this year, said Myron Jepson, general manager. The elevator site is ready for concrete to be poured for some of the pits, service road beds are complete and the railroad track bed has been built up, he said.

Concord Grain will have 2.55 million bushels of storage capacity. There will be three, 730,000-bushel (105-foot-diameter) steel bins and one, 360,000-bushel steel bin. The facility is equipped with three, 20,000-bushel-per-hour dump pits, as well as, a 7,000-bushel-per-hour dryer.

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and Kansas State University (KSU) are offering AFIA 520 – Advanced Feed Safety and Quality Assurance Protocols completely online, AFIA said on April 11.

The course was developed by KSU’s Department of Grain Science and Industry and North Carolina State University’s Department of Poultry Science along with leading industry experts to provide training and understanding of the industry’s increasingly complex requirements for quality and safety.

“Not only is safe food and safe feed customer driven, it is also driven by a need to comply with the upcoming Food Safety Modernisation Act,” said Keith Epperson, AFIA vice-president of manufacturing and training. “Our industry has a clear focus to understand the requirements and be actively involved in compliance.”

The course starts on May 20, and will last for five weeks with participants working at their own pace and engaging in online discussion. The cost is $499 for AFIA members and $685 for non-members. Size is limited to 50 participants so early registration is recommended.

Kansas State University (photo credit: google)

April 12, 2013

12/04/2013: Coeliac UK launches its Gluten-free Chef of the Year Competition; developing a HACCP program for the industry; food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems

Coeliac

launches this year’s Gluten-Free Chef of the Year competition at the Wessex Salon Culinaire, asking entrants to showcase their skills by making gluten-free substitutes such as bread or pasta at the live final.

For the fourth year, the competition is being run in association with the Institute of Hospitality and the Craft Guild of Chefs with the judging to be once again headed up by celebrity chef and Coeliac

’s Food Ambassador Phil Vickery.

The competition is for professional cooks and catering college students to design a three course gluten-free meal for two people. Entrants’ menus must include at least two courses which include a gluten-free element, such as pasta, pastry, sponge, cake, bread, batter etc which must be made from scratch on the day of the live cookoff by the three finalists in each group. The live cookoff will take place at the Unilever Food Solutions Culinary Business Development Centre, Leatherhead in November 2013.

Closing date for entries is 5pm on 20 October 2013

More than 40 participants traveled to the International Grains Program April 1-4, 2013 to attend a course focused on establishing a hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) program for the feed industry.

The Kansas State University International Grains Program teamed up with the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) to hold this successful course.

Throughout the course participants looked at the feed-industry regulations, learned the seven HACCP principles and how to develop and implement an effective HACCP program.

"The course provided the basic tools for feed millers and how to implement all the principles of HACCP step-by-step," says Carlos Campabadal, IGP feed manufacturing program specialist course manager.

The UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in its thirty-ninth Session (October 2012) requested the High Level Panel of Experts for Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE), to undertake a study on ‘Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems’ to be presented to the Plenary in 2014.

Until 30 April 2013, the HLPE is running an open e-consultation on the scope of this report, and the pertinence of main questions. References of global and national studies and data on the subject, especially on food waste, are also welcome.

The 40 participants for the NGFA-AFIA-KSU HACCP course held at the International Grains Program Conference Center pose for a group picture during the first day

April 11, 2013

11/04/2013: US rice imports contain harmful levels of lead; three-year trial shows savings from on-farm blending; Alberta’s historic grain elevators

Analysis of commercially available rice imported into the US has revealed it contains levels of lead far higher than regulations suggest are safe. Some samples exceeded the "provisional total tolerable intake" (PTTI) set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by a factor of 120.

The report at the American Chemical Society Meeting adds to the already well-known issue of arsenic in rice. The FDA told the BBC it would review the research. Lead is known to be harmful to many organs and the central nervous system.

It is a particular risk for young children, who suffer significant developmental problems if exposed to elevated lead levels. Because rice is grown in heavily irrigated conditions, it is more susceptible than other staple crops to environmental pollutants in irrigation water.

Recent studies have highlighted the presence of arsenic in rice - prompting consumption advice from the UK's Food Standards Agencyand more recently from the FDA.

However, other heavy metals represent a risk as well. Dr Tsanangurayi Tongesayi of Monmouth University in New Jersey, US, and his team have tested a number of imported brands of rice bought from local shops.

The US imports about 7% of its rice, and the team sampled packaged rice from Bhutan, Italy, China, Taiwan, India, Israel, the Czech Republic and Thailand - which accounts for 65% of US imports.

The team measured the lead levels in each country-category and calculated the lead intake on the basis of daily consumption. The results will be published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Health (Part B).

Feedlogic Corporation has released results from a three-year trial which demonstrate the value of blending feed on farm to more closely match the dietary requirements of the animals.

The trial was conducted at a 1,200-head commercial hog finishing site in Minnesota and showed a net improvement in profitability of over $3.75 per marketed pig by blending feed versus feeding standard phase diets. The savings came primarily from a reduced feed cost per pound of gain.

More than 12,000 pigs were involved in the trial over a total of 10 turns. The trial facility was set up with a FeedSaver blending system which allowed half of the pigs (approx. 600 head) to be fed the standard phase diets and the other half to receive a blend of two standard diets – typically the first and fourth diets used in the standard phase program.

Feed for both groups was weighed through the FeedSaver system, allowing an accurate comparison of feed consumption between the groups. The blended diets were changed with every 10 lbs/head of consumption; the phase diets as per the standard feed budgets.

The results of the trial confirm previous theories that altering diets more frequently than the standard industry practice can improve feed conversion and lower feed cost per pound of gain. They also provide strong evidence that the blending does not come at the cost of carcass premiums.

The clip of highway between Lethbridge, Alta., and the U.S. border looks like a golden ocean up against a sky so wide, blue, quiet and cloudless that it's easy to wonder if the laws of gravity apply, as if a traveller could fall off the surface of the earth and float away.

Then comes Warner, pop. 382, immediately recognisable by a row of six wooden grain elevators, paint chipping, the town's name emblazoned in white and blue letters. After watching miles of formless horizon, it's a thankful beacon, as welcome as an old lighthouse to a lost mariner.

Grain elevators were once such a common sight on the prairie that it wouldn't be unusual to see a dozen lined up along a track. Now, Warner's is believed to be the last working grain elevator row in the country.

"It's huge for us, it really is. Without them we'd rely entirely on residents. Because we don't have any other large industries in town," said Sandi Hedlin, town councillor.

These icons of prairie architecture have disappeared at an alarming rate. From a peak of more than 1,700 wooden grain elevators in the 1930s, Alberta's provincial government now knows of only about 120. The ongoing takeover of Viterra - the country's largest grain handler - by an Australian company has left a question mark hanging over many of the wooden elevators still standing.

Grain elevators were once such a common sight on the prairie that it wouldn’t be unusual to see a dozen lined up along a train track

April 09, 2013

09/04/2013: Colin Tutt to assume new role in CBH; food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems; oregano against hyperacidity

The CBH Group announced today that general manager operations Colin Tutt will be taking on a newly established role within the business from July this year, marking a transition to retirement.

Mr Tutt will be commencing as the inaugural general manager Global Supply Chain from 1 July with the charter to investigate new ideas from around the globe for grain handling and storage as well as overall supply chain management.

"I have been with CBH for almost 40 years and loved every minute of it. I have described my time heading up operations as the best job in WA, and it is, but it is time for change. The grains industry is changing so rapidly and I am not getting any younger. This job needs some new energy and new perspective," he said.

"This new role allows me to transition from the day-to-day functionality of our supply chain to a more strategic consultative role but remain in the business providing support to the team for the medium term."

Mr Tutt will continue to provide support to the operations team in addressing below rail issues and will assist marketing and trading to identify ways to get grain to global markets by focusing on supply chain innovation beyond Western Australia.

"Colin's wealth of experience and his breadth of knowledge of this business are undisputedly enormous, so ensuring we can transition slowly and provide the right amount of support to the new general manager of operations is very important," Andy Crane, CBH group chief executive officer said.

The CBH Group will commence recruitment for Mr Tutt's successor in the general manager operations role in due course.

The UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in its thirty-ninth session requested the High Level Panel of Experts for Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE), to undertake a study on ‘Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems’ to be presented to the Plenary in 2014. This report has to be policy oriented, practical and operational.

The HLPE also wishes to inform that a public call for candidatures to the Project Team for this report is currently open until 30^th April 2013.

Phytogenic feed supplements with oregano have proven to be effective for preventing and treating hyperacidity in the rumen of dairy cows caused by concentrated feed (acidosis).

Companies such as Dostofarm offer herbal preparations in powder form to be added to the feed. The added flavour causes the animals to produce more saliva and thus sodium bicarbonate: A substance that increases the pH-value in the rumen, neutralising excess gastric acid. Hyperacidity in the rumen is a common problem when high milk yields and weight gain are required.

The symptoms of affected rumen mucosa are often not directly perceptible. Typical signs are a lack of appetite and abnormal faeces, flatulence, sores and decreased fertility. There are no known problems with resistance to phyto-supplements, and they do not affect the flavour of the animal products. A welcome side effect: When added to the total mix ration (TMR), the preparations reduce heating and improper fermentation of the feed. Thus, the oregano supplement is a simple but effective measure to reduce costs.

April 08, 2013

FIAAP Asia, VICTAM Asia and GRAPAS Asia 2014

At a press conference in Bangkok, Mr Henk van de Bunt, general manager, Victam International BV, announced the launch of the first Asean Feed & Grain Symposium, the first Asean Feed Summit and the first Asean Rice Summit. He then went on to report of the progress of FIAAP Asia, VICTAM Asia & GRAPAS Asia 2014.

“On behalf of Victam International I would like to welcome you all to the press conference for FIAAP Asia, VICTAM Asia and GRAPAS Asia 2014. I know some of you have travelled a long way to attend tonight and for this I would like to thank you. This evening I would like to update you on our shows and also announce some exciting new developments that we are introducing in 2014.

But first the exhibitions. These will be held at the modern, purpose built exhibition halls of the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre or BITEC here in Bangkok from the 8 – 10 April 2014. We will be using Halls 103 and 104. Many of you are acquainted with BITEC already as we held our successful 2012 show there. So what are our exhibitions and conferences?

First we have – FIAAP Asia 2014

This is the only specialist exhibition and conference for the ingredients, additives and formulation of feeds for animals, aquafeed and dry petfood within the expanding Asia/Pacific markets.

Next is VICTAM Asia 2014

As many of you will know VICTAM Asia is by far the largest exhibition in South East Asia for animal feed production technology. This equipment, technology, together with ancillary systems is required and is essential for the safe and effective production of feeds for animals, aquafeed and dry petfood. We have included the sector of biomass pellet production machinery within the exhibition over the last few years. We have seen this becoming increasingly popular and important as biomass pellets are seen as an alternative green energy source in the power generation industry both here and also elsewhere in the world.

Thirdly there is GRAPAS Asia 2014

GRAPAS Asia is the only trade show in the Asia/Pacific region for the grain processing sectors. The show profiles rice & flour milling, grain processing, storage, preservation & distribution, industrial noodle & pasta production, the manufacture of breakfast cereals and extruded snacks. This exhibition has seen dramatic growth over the last few years. The 2014 event is “A PARTNERSHIP IN SYNERGY”. Why do we say this? Because the shows inter-connect.

FIAAP – with animal feed ingredients & additives is directly related to

VICTAM – with animal feed processing & ancillary equipment. Both shows attract visitors from the feed industry.

There is also a relationship between Victam and GRAPAS – our show for rice & flour milling, grain processing technology & ancillary equipment. Of course grains of various kinds are used within animal feeds, and much of the ancillary equipment found in a feed mill will also be found in a rice or flour mill. These include - storage systems, conveyors, bagging equipment, automation, computers systems and programs and much more.

I think that this inter-relationship between these sector profiles is a major reason for the event’s growth and continuing success. We also have a number of supporting conferences, these are shown here:

FIAAP Asia Conference 2014

Petfood Forum Asia 2014

Aquafeed Horizons Asia 2014

Thai Feed Conference

Biomass Pellets Update Asia

GRAPAS Asia Conference 2014

FIAAP Asia will attract senior executives from feed mills, integrators, large farms & co-operatives, hatcheries, fish farms, home farm mixers, petfood manufacturers, etc.

These executives will be nutritionists, veterinarians, feed formulators, mill & production managers, CEO’s, etc.

Victam Asia visitors will also be senior executives from feed mills, integrators, large farms & co-operatives, hatcheries, fish farms, home farm mixers, petfood manufacturers, etc. and biomass processors and energy generators. These important visitors will be mill managers, production managers, CEO’s and directors, feed formulators, nutritionists, etc. and plant managers from energy generators looking for biomass pelleting technology. They will probably find the largest assembly of companies displaying biomass pelleting technology ever seen in Asia.

Lastly there is GRAPAS Asia, senior executives from throughout South and South East Asia will also come to this show. They will be from rice and flour mills, rice and grain storage and processing plants, industrial noodle manufacturers, plant bakers, breakfast cereal and savoury snack producers, etc. These executives will comprise mill managers, production managers, CEO’s, nutritionists, etc.

Many of you came to our last event in Asia which was held in 2012. The event attracted over 6000 industry executives from throughout South and South East Asia. These visitors came from a total of 73 different countries. I think you will agree with me that it was a truly international and highly successful event.

As I mentioned earlier we have some new and exciting developments for our 2014 event. These are the First ASEAN Feed Summit and the First ASEAN Rice Summit. Many of you will not know that Victam International is a subsidiary of the Victam Foundation, which is a Dutch charitable foundation. The Victam Foundation, I am pleased to announce, will sponsor and support both of these Summits.

The aim of the Asean Feed and Rice summits is to bring together an international forum of Feed and Rice Associations, and other related Associations in the ASEAN region in order to discuss and determine the future policies and objectives for these important industries. With the anticipated creation of the ASEAN Economic Bloc in 2015 it is essential that feed millers, rice millers and processors and their relevant associations within this area should have a greater dialogue.

The first summits are planned for 2014 over the period of the 8^th to the 10^th of April, during our 2014 event. The Summits will be hosted by the Thai Feed Mill Association, Thai Rice Associations with the assistance and support of the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and the Thai Chamber of Commerce. TCEB, the Thai Convention & Exhibition Bureau, has also been invited to be involved in the promotion and organisation of this important international meeting.

The Victam Foundation will invite the President and Secretary General or equivalent from each Association within the region to attend the summit. Victam will pay for their return flights to Bangkok and 4/5 star accommodation during the period of the summit.

The Foundation will also provide a fully equipped air-conditioned conference rooms within BITEC (Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre) for the duration of the summit.

We will update you regularly on the progression of the content of each Summit.

Moving on, I am pleased to announce that the shows once again have the support of the following Thai organisations:

The Thai Ministry of Agriculture & Co-Operatives

The Department of Livestock Development

The Department of Fisheries

The Thai Feed Mill Association

The Thai Rice Milling Association

The Thai Petfood Association

The Thai Chamber of Commerce

Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau

That Ladies and Gentlemen is now the end of my presentation. However I and my colleagues would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.”