Cereal Grains

Dr Colin Walter WRIGLEY, B.Sc. (Hon.), M.Sc., Ph.D., FRACI, CChem.Colin Wrigley’s 45 years in cereal chemistry research have earned him international recognition, in the form of several international and Australian research awards. His work is described in over 500 research publications, including several patents, a series of eight books on Australian cereal varieties and many edited books. His research interests centre on the characterisation of cereal-grain proteins in relation to processing quality. This has involved developing new methods of protein fractionation, including gel isoelectric focusing and its two-dimensional combination with gel electrophoresis. Other diagnostic methods developed relate to the evaluation of grain quality in wheat and barley, such as better methods for variety identification, and for characterising quality in starch and sprouted grain (as co-patentor of the Rapid ViscoAnalyser). Research involvement also includes elucidation of grain-quality variation due to environmental factors (heat stress, fertiliser use and storage conditions). Currently, Dr Wrigley is an Honorary Research Fellow at Food Science Australia, in Sydney, and a Consultant to the Value-Added Wheat Cooperative Research Centre. This role includes acting as a mentor to the “next generation” of cereal chemists.

Part 1 Cereal grain quality: An introduction: An introduction to the cereal grains: Major providers for mankind’s food needs; Cereal-grain morphology and composition; The diversity of uses for cereal grains. Part 2 Characteristics and quality requirements of specific cereals: Wheat: Characteristics and quality requirements; Rye and triticale: Characteristics and quality requirements; Barley: Characteristics and quality requirements; Oats: Characteristics and quality requirements; Corn: Characteristics and quality requirements; Rice: Characteristics and quality requirements; Sorghum and millets: Characteristics and quality requirements. Part 3 Grain quality analysis: Analysis of grain quality at receival; Identification of grain variety and quality type; Food safety aspects of grain and cereal product quality. Part 4 Grain quality management: Breeding for grain-quality traits; The effects of growth environment and agronomy on grain quality; Maintaining grain quality during storage and transport; Processing wheat to optimise product quality; Grain quality: The consumer, the scientist, the technologist and the future. Part 5 Appendices: Composition of grains and grain products; Equivalence between metric and US units for the grain industry.