Background and objectives Free asparagine (ASN) is the precursor to the formation of acrylamide, which is a probable neurotoxic and carcinogenic compound formed during high‐temperature (>120°C) processing of starchy foods, such as cereal‐based products. Controlling the acrylamide concentration of cereal‐based products, for example, bread, within the allowable levels established by the European Commission, is necessary for food safety purposes. One effective measure recommended by the European Commission to mitigate acrylamide in cereal‐based products is to reduce free ASN levels in raw ingredients, for example, wheat. Therefore, knowledge of free ASN levels in Canadian commercial wheat and the strategies to reduce its formation is necessary for the Canadian wheat industry to secure global market access for Canadian wheat. The objective of this study was to understand the effects of genotype, growing environment, and fertilization on free ASN concentration of whole‐wheat flour from Western Canadian wheat varieties. Findings The free ASN concentration of whole‐wheat flours in this study ranged from 281 to 1,014 µg/g (dry basis). The variation in free ASN levels in wheat was mainly influenced by the growing environment (44%), followed by genotype (31%) and the interaction between genotype and environment (18%). Although being significant, the effects of fertilization and interactions involving fertilization on free ASN concentration in whole‐wheat flour were minimal (0.7%–2.2%). Conclusion Growing wheat genotypes in suitable environments, along with the selection of wheat genotypes with lower potential for free ASN formation, are the most effective strategies to control free ASN levels in Canadian wheat. Significance and novelty Limited knowledge in regard to free ASN concentration and the strategies to reduce its formation in Canadian wheat may have a serious impact on Canadian wheat access to global markets, especially the European market. This study provides an understanding of the effects of growing environment, genotype, and fertilization on free ASN concentration of select Western Canadian commercial wheat varieties.

No abstract

The amino acid asparagine is considered the rate limiting precursor in the formation of acrylamide in cereal based baked foods. However, there are no data on the quantity of this precursor in Canadian wheat. Wholemeal and white flour samples obtained from 30 Canadian Hard Red Spring (Canada HRS) wheat grown in the Prairie Provinces were analysed for asparagine content by liquid chromatography. The asparagine content varied from 302 to 965 and 116 to 336 µg/ g for wholemeal and white flour, respectively. Therefore, wheat grown in Canada has similar asparagine levels to wheat grown in other parts of the world. Analysis of variance suggested that asparagine content is significantly affected by genotype (p < 0.001), suggesting that breeding strategies could be investigated to produce cultivars with lower levels of this amino acid. Few significant correlations were observed between wheat and flour quality parameters and asparagine content, although there was a tendency towards weaker dough strength indices with increasing asparagine content.

The effects of holdup on Sauter mean drop diameter, D 32 , and dispersed phase mass transfer coefficient have been studied in the spray and packed extraction columns. For both columns, two well-defined regions for the dependence of D 32 on holdup were observed. D 32 increased and decreased with an increase in holdup at low and high levels of holdup, respectively. Changes in dispersed phase mass transfer coefficient against holdup were shown to be similar to D 32 for both columns. Moreover, empirical correlations have been derived to predict D 32 and dispersed phase mass transfer coefficient for both columns. It has been shown that the derived correlations are in a good agreement with the experimental data.

Background and objectives The need for cost‐effective, fast, and reliable techniques to evaluate wheat protein content and quality has led to the modification of available methods as well as the development of new methods. This review provides information on two emerging methods, that is, low‐field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF‐NMR) and low‐intensity ultrasound, with potential for evaluating wheat protein content and quality. Findings New techniques with additional capabilities have been developed over the years to provide wheat researchers with information that could not be acquired by the use of conventional methods. LF‐NMR and low‐intensity ultrasound are two emerging techniques in the world of cereal science whose speed, ease of operation, and reliability could promote their applications to wheat screening research studies. This review of these two potential wheat protein quality evaluation methods highlights the necessity of developing such cutting‐edge tools which are advantageous over the conventional tools. Conclusions Easy‐to‐use LF‐NMR and low‐intensity ultrasound seem to have the potential to provide nondestructive, fast evaluation methods that are superior to the currently used techniques in terms of accuracy and cost, respectively. However, further investigations to achieve complete development of such methods are still required. Significance and novelty The potential of LF‐NMR and low‐intensity ultrasound as fast, accurate, and cost‐effective wheat screening tools was confirmed through critical discussions and comparisons of a variety of most widely used wheat quality evaluation techniques.