New barley food class smoothes the way for anticipated health claims

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

by SUSAN MANN

The Canadian Grain Commission implemented new barley food classes as part of barley grade schedule clarifications effective July 1 in Eastern Canada and Aug. 1 for the West.

Daryl Beswitherick, the commission’s program manager for quality assurance, says the previous grades were malting, hulless and general purpose barley. Malting and general purpose are end use characteristics. Hulless is a type of barley.

The changes make it clear there can be covered and hulless types of barley in each of malting, general purpose and food classes. “There is a health claim for barley in the United States and we’re hoping that the Canadian government will put this health claim on barley in Canada soon,” he says.

In 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permitted claims of reduction of coronary heart disease to be attached to whole grain barley and barley products after scientific evidence indicated barley lowers cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is considered a risk for heart disease.

Beswitherick explains that the grade schedule changes highlight that barley can be used for food. Some varieties are bred for milling-quality food purposes and previously there wasn’t a place to put them as food barley other than the general-purpose class. The commission’s restructuring of its grade schedules allows for the new food class.

For hulless barley the commission implemented some minor changes in the definitions of procedures for grade improvement cleaning.

Another change implemented July 1 was new colour definitions for Canada red lentils along with new tolerances for copper and bleached seeds and new wrinkled seed tolerances. Beswitherick says the copper and bleached tolerances will help in the colour assessment and the wrinkled is a new grading factor for red lentils.

For Eastern Canada feed wheat, there are revised heated tolerances.

The changes are in the commission’s official Grain Grading Guide available at – www.grainscanada.gc.ca . BF