Milling News
A new year starts for M4L, an industry inspired charity Clifford Spencer, , Goodwill Ambassador, NEPAD and Chairman, Milling4Life With 2017’s arrival both current and fresh challenges arising in the world of milling and nutrition will be identified and tackled. The inexorable link between sound nutrition and sound health becomes more and more evident. The old adage ‘we are what we eat’ is being transformed by modern science from an old wives’ tale into scientific fact. Grain forms the cornerstone of the human diet in most parts of the world and in developing countries the safe and efficient primary processing of grain is one of the great hurdles for these societies to overcome. Outbreaks of aflatoxin poisoning from badly grown, harvested, stored and processed maize is a regular occurrence and bread and pastries devoid of the necessary vitamins can reap havoc particularly to the developing young. Aflatoxin is a potent human carcinogen and a naturally occurring toxic metabolite produced by certain fungi (Aspergillus flavis), a mould found on food products such as corn and peanuts, peanut butter and acts as a potent liver carcinogen. Indeed food safety has become a national problem even in countries like China where regular reports of fatalities and bad practice are too common and also this has stimulated a resultant craving and demand for western sourced food in an effort to overcome these risks. When I was a young aspirational farmer and actively producing grain in prize winning quality and record breaking yields, I presumed industry leaders such as NABIM in my home country were the norm for the rest of the world. The availability of valuable, versatile and nutritious flour I also thought was a global norm and I presumed that most countries had access to flour packed with vitamins and minerals as an essential part of daily diet. I was largely unaware of the sheer scale of the global problem in this key area of diet and the enormous challenges to many countries and societies this represented. Only through events such as the ‘Arab Spring’ that the sheer scale of the problem has hit home in the West. This is because just like on-demand instant access electricity we all enjoy their supply and yet largely take for granted these industry high standards and full access to an enormous range of high quality grain products. In my own country of the UK its flour milling industry is highly developed and consists of 30 companies, operating a total of 50 milling sites. Wheat is the industry’s main raw material, with approximately 5 million tonnes milled annually to produce 4 million tonnes of flour. Similarly I would guess that the number of real decision-making farmers in the UK is down to the tens of thousands in number. Wheat possesses several health benefits, especially when utilized as a wholegrain product and provides protection against diseases such as constipation, ischaemic, heart 22 | January 2017 - Milling and Grain
disease, diverticulum, appendicitis, diabetes and obesity. These benefits are attributed in part to the presence of different compounds such as dietary fibres, phytochemicals, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Now compare this to the position in Ethiopia, which is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest wheat producer albeit that nationally, wheat ranks as fourth in total area coverage (1,389, 215.00 ha). It is also third in productivity (after maize and sorghum) among cereals in the country but it is nevertheless one of the most important crops grown and consumed in Ethiopia both in terms of total production (2.85 million MT in 2010/11) and the proportion of total calories consumed in the country (19.6% of calories consumed). Now consider as reported in this column last month that there are some six million farmers in Ethiopia alone and it is just one of 55 countries on the African continent. Add to this as also previously explained its indigenous grain Teff produced by most of its farmers is nowhere near well enough understood in terms of its processing and the availability of suitable equipment to perform this task. Only then do you come to realise the global challenge. Add on to that the sheer misery and angst created in many families in developing countries due to poor nutrition that I have since witnessed first-hand due to the lack of developments in milling and the provision of decent nutritious flour and you come to realise the huge necessity for the work of this charity M4L. With advances in technology, there are now a number of ways in which cereals and their products can be enhanced. Traditional plant breeding is still an important tool [e.g. breeding for improved selenium uptake and/or retention) and particularly this needs applying much more to underdeveloped grain crops such as Teff, Millet and Sorghum. It is also possible to change the nutrient content of cereal products through fortification and even through genetic manipulation of the crop. Even further research into the processing of cereals and production of cereal products may also still improve overall nutrient content particularly in the underdeveloped grain crops. Another area of interest is the interaction between genes and nutrients such as the genes involved in the digestion and absorption of carbohydrate. As the knowledge base on gene nutrient interactions grows, it may be possible to target specific nutrition messages to people with specific genetic profiles, however currently such an approach is a way off largely because of the complexity of the science. Also while technology may provide opportunities it is most important to consider the long-term consequences and consumer acceptability of new technology. Similarly, in-country on the ground practical industry establishment is the prime requirement in developing countries before this expertise can be fully implemented for the good of many millions of poorly supplied consumers and that is an area where M4L will look to encourage development work.