Sanitary inspection of food products; nutritional and hygienic assessment of flour and bread

1. Hygienic characteristics of methods of sanitary inspection of food

2. Nutritional value of grain products

• The grade depends on extraction rate. High-extraction (wholemeal) flour keeps bran and germ, so it has more fibre, B vitamins, minerals (Fe, Zn, Mg), and a higher ash content.
• Highly refined (low-extraction) flour is mostly starch and gluten protein. It is more digestible and keeps longer, but it loses B vitamins and minerals. Many countries therefore fortify it with iron, folic acid and B vitamins.
• Wheat gluten (gliadin and glutenin) determines baking quality. It is also the trigger in coeliac disease.

• Wheat bread is mainly carbohydrate (about 45 to 50 g/100 g) with about 7 to 8 g protein and about 230 to 250 kcal/100 g. Rye bread has slightly less energy and more fibre and lysine. These are approximate textbook figures.
• Baking and fermentation improve starch digestibility. Yeast adds B vitamins.
• Wholemeal bread has a lower glycaemic response and more fibre.
• Bread is limited in lysine and calcium, and low in fat. It works best with milk, legumes and vegetables.

3. Sanitary-hygienic assessment of flour

1. Mycotoxins and fungi. These include aflatoxin, ochratoxin A, fumonisin and deoxynivalenol. A 2024 meta-analysis of organic versus conventional cereals and a review of ochratoxin A and fumonisin B1 in European cereals both found these toxins widespread. Codex requires flour to meet the maximum mycotoxin limits set for it.
2. Ergot. Rye and wheat can be contaminated with Claviceps purpurea. Eating bread from such flour causes ergotism. Flour with about 10% ergot has been linked to ergotism with vitamin A deficiency (Dikshit, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Signs and Symptoms). Chronic poisoning follows long ingestion of ergot-contaminated bread (Parikh's Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Ergot).
3. Fusarium toxins. "Temulent" or "drunken" bread and alimentary toxic aleukia come from overwintered, Fusarium-infected grain.
4. Microbial contamination. Flour is a low-moisture food, but it has caused outbreaks of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (Goldman-Cecil Medicine, Enterohemorrhagic Strains) and Salmonella. These are mostly a problem when flour is eaten raw or unbaked.
5. Pests. Mites, weevils and beetles damage the flour. Infested flour is rejected.
6. Chemical contaminants. These are pesticide residues, heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Hg) and radionuclides. Codex requires flour to be free of heavy metals in hazardous amounts and to comply with pesticide maximum residue limits (Codex standard for wheat flour).
7. Physical and adulterants. Park's lists mud, grit and soapstone as adulterants of wheat and other cereals (Table 37). Metal particles from milling equipment (magnetic impurities) are also limited. Lathyrus flour is banned in India because of lathyrism (Park's, Interventions).

• Organoleptic: colour, smell (no musty, rancid or sour note), taste (no bitterness or sweetness), no crunch from grit.
• Moisture: about 14 to 15%. Higher values promote moulds and pests.
• Acidity: it rises with storage and spoilage. Codex sets a maximum fat acidity of 70 mg per 100 g (dry matter, as sulphuric acid).
• Ash: shows the extraction grade.
• Gluten: amount and quality, for baking value.
• Impurities: metal particles, sand, weed seeds, pests.
• Toxic elements and mycotoxins, pesticides: compared with the limits in force.

4. Sanitary-hygienic assessment of bread

• Shape: regular, not flattened or cracked.
• Crust: uniform colour, no burning, tearing or detachment from the crumb.
• Crumb: well baked, elastic (springs back after pressure), fine and even pores, no lumps of unmixed flour, no stickiness.
• Smell and taste: typical of bread. No sour, musty or foreign flavour; no crunch of mineral impurities.

• Moisture: wheat bread has a lower limit than rye bread. Excess moisture shortens shelf life.
• Acidity: it is higher in rye bread because of sourdough fermentation. It is expressed in degrees.
• Porosity: shows how well the dough was fermented and baked.
• Safety: toxic elements, mycotoxins and non-permitted additives are checked on the same schedule as flour.

• Ropy bread (Bacillus subtilis and related spore-formers): the crumb becomes sticky and stringy, with a sweetish fruity smell. It is common in hot weather and in acid-poor wheat bread. The spores survive baking.
• Mould (Rhizopus, Aspergillus, Penicillium): follows damp storage or inadequate cooling. Mouldy bread is withdrawn, because mycotoxins may spread deeper than the visible growth.
• Underbaked or burnt bread, and adulteration or false labelling.

• Raw materials come with quality certificates and are checked on receipt.
• Personnel have medical records, clean clothing and no skin or enteric infection.
• Bread is cooled before packing and not touched by bare hands.
• Transport vehicles are clean, closed and dedicated.
• Premises are cleaned routinely and kept free of pests.

5. Summary points for the exam

• Cereals are the main energy source but have poor protein quality (low in lysine), so pair them with pulses or milk.
• Higher extraction means more vitamins and minerals, but also more ash and a shorter shelf life.
• The key flour hazards are mycotoxins, ergot, pests, Salmonella and E. coli, heavy metals and pesticides, and adulterants.
• The key bread problems are ropiness, mould, underbaking and contaminated raw material.
• Inspection follows this order: sampling, organoleptic screening, physico-chemical tests, microbiological and toxicological confirmation, then a conclusion on suitability.