Starch Availability
| Starch gelatinization is the process of making starch more digestible. This is typically performed through grain processing (rolling or flaking). Many factors influence starch availability or gelatinization including corn quality, cook time, cook temperature, roll conditions and flake density. A problem commonly encountered has been the lack of a reliable, scientific method for determining available starch.
Weld Laboratories perfected and patented a method for determining gelatinized starch in steam-flaked grains (US Patent No. 6,326,043). By using the results generated by our method the consumer can choose between different processed grains or the processor can make adjustments to the flaking conditions, increasing or decreasing the percent gelatinized starch in the grain. The analysis compares the processed grain with the whole grain, so customers are advised to send in a sample of the unprocessed grain with their sample whenever possible. There is no extra charge for the unprocessed grain when it is accompanied by a flaked or rolled sample. The cost of the analysis is $45.00 per processed sample. |