Products tested

Cereals, Grains & Soy

Cereals, Grains & Soy Cereals, Grains & Soy Cereals, Grains & Soy

Introduction

Cereals and grains are the basis of every diet (75% of the world’s total). Most of it is used directly with minimal processing. Furthermore, cereals and grains are part of uncountable processed products on the market. Unconventional grains, substitutes for meat and milk, preferably organic and of trustworthy origin are on the rise. Wheat (common wheat and durum wheat) is the most cultivated species. Its quality traits are the most critical of all the grains, being the unique source of the dough-forming gluten protein. Other cereals are triticale, rye, barley, oats, maize, rice, sorghum and the millets. Also pseudocereals like buckwheat and quinoa are classed with the cereals.

The other big market for these products is animal feed.

Although not a cereal, most of the above stated is also true for soy. There may not be direct consumption of large quantities of soy, but it is fed to the animals that become human food as well as it present in many products. Genetically modified soy, which can tolerate glyphosate, facilitated the cultivation effort in many parts of the world and has a strong impact on prices and customer perception. Due to the wide variety of usage, soybeans have become one of the most profitable crops. Soybean meal can be used in animal feed. The oil extracted from soybeans can be used in the food industry, as well as the by-product soy lecithin. The oil however, can be used for producing biofuel. Soy production has more than doubled over the last two decades. However, the rising demand of soy had led to a number of disadvantages for the climate, especially the aggressive expansion of space for planting soy which destroys nature. The large-scale use of land for soy production, particularly for cheap protein for livestock feed or for use as biodiesel, continues to spark fierce controversy over sustainability and is driving companies to address the issue of ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance).


For addressing the above mentioned issues, getting trustable information about the origin of cereals, grains or soy can be very interesting, as it allows conclusions to be drawn about the type of farming, adulteration probability, etc.

Some regions in the world may be connected with negative associations such as poor labor conditions, mix-up allegations, different legal strategy concerning GMOs or organic farming or climate preservation. Thus, safeguarding provenance and keeping the value add of the sustainability and responsible sourcing standards of the supply chain is of profound importance.

By determining and interpreting the stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, hydrogen and oxygen of any fruit or vegetable, the so-called isotope fingerprint (consisting of all five ratios) is established which is characteristic for the sample and can be compared to reference data from reference samples from different regions or to a database. To achieve high geographical resolution and credible results, we use our databases, as well as our expertise and know-how to provide advanced customized origin testing by including more parameters.

In collaboration with Donau Soja a worldwide isotope database could be established, which includes more than 700 GPS-referenced soy samples. With its approach, Imprint Analytics can make precise statements about the geographical origin of soybeans and helps to guarantee the traceability at all levels.

The collaboration makes it possible to offer a unique analysis package for testing soy beans – in addition to the determination of the geographical origin by stable isotope analysis, via screening genetically modified organisms (GMO) can be identified and further evidence for the use of pesticides like glyphosate can be given.

In some cases it can be of interest if a sample comes from a certain batch. Unknown factors of differentiation, for example different qualities of lots and sublots can be addressed by untargeted fingerprinting of the products with one or more analytical methods of our portfolio, in order to identify differences and provide useful information for further investigation of such inconsistencies.

Isotope analysis plays a decisive role when it comes to traceability of batches in the areas of production, import and export. With retained samples, the identity of products can be verified independently of documents – a control sample is directly compared with an original reference sample, providing strong evidence of authenticity.

If the focus is on the detection of a (partial) substitution of the named by another botanical material, identification of these species can be a supporting analytical method of choice. This can be of great importance for customers when they buy flour, or processed flour products like pasta or bread of a certain crop which may be mixed with or substituted by another crop.

We also offer DNA profiling of high value rice (Basmati).

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