Wheat testing experts achieve accreditation

Press, 18 February 1989, Page 8

Wheat testing experts achieve accreditation

By

JANE DUNBAR

Christchurch’s Wheat Research Institute has achieved a world first by having its bake-testing laboratory accredited by a national authority. The laboratory is used to test wheat and flour by baking them to produce loaves of bread. The volume, texture and colour of the loaves are then measured. New Zealand is the only country where it is feasible to bake test samples of every line of wheat grown before it goes into production, the leader of the institute’s analytical group, Dr Tim Lindley, said. The system had been designed to deal with thousands of tests each season. This made the milling and baking

industry more efficient as it led to a lower rejection of wheat. Staff at the laboratory had “sweated blood” over the last two years in the drive to reach accreditation standard, Dr Lindley said. But it had been well worth it as the tests had “tightened up” in the process. The accreditation of the laboratory was granted by Telarc, the New Zealand Accreditation Authority for Quality Assurance, Laboratory Testing, and Industrial Design. Registration was an acknowledgement of the laboratory’s expertise, Dr Lindley said. The laboratory’s equipment was designed and built in Christchurch.