Kermanshah's New Step Toward Healthier Bread Production

Kermanshah – The acting head of the Kermanshah Province Grain and Commercial Services Department announced that 13 active flour mills in the province are ready to implement the new resolution to reduce bran removal and move toward producing whole-grain bread.

In a conversation with Mehr reporter, Amir Nouri explained the plans of this General Directorate for the implementation of the new approvals in the field of flour and bread.

Referring to the major policies of Iran's state-owned specialized trading mother company in the field of improving the quality of bread and promoting the consumption of whole bread, Nouri said: improving the quality of flour and bread consumed by the people is one of the important issues that is considered in the plans of this general administration, and in this regard, the implementation of the new approvals of the flour and bread council and the provision of the necessary preparations for the realization of the anticipated goals in the field of food health are pursued.

He added: Considering the importance of standard flour and the role of bread in the household food basket, in line with the decisions taken at the national level and the emphasis of the CEO of Iran State Trading Company, the development of wholemeal flour production and reducing the percentage of bran removal from wheat is on the agenda as one of the basic priorities in the field of health and food security of the province.

The head of the General Department of Grain and Commercial Services of Kermanshah Province stated that the quality of the produced flour has a direct effect on the characteristics of the bread offered to the consumers, and continued: moving towards the production of flour with higher nutritional value requires coordination between different parts of the flour and bread supply chain; Therefore, the implementation of new policies should be followed with the participation of flour mills and units related to bread production and supply.

Nouri emphasized: In this direction, the announced policies in the field of flour and bread are the basis of planning, and efforts are being made to use the existing capacities of the province to implement new guidelines and improve the quality of the final product.

The activity of 13 flour mills with full capacity

He went on to explain the status of flour factories in Kermanshah province and said: Currently, out of the total of 16 flour factories in the province, 13 factories are active and continue to operate with full capacity.

The director of the general department of grain and commercial services of Kermanshah province added: these production units play a role in providing the flour needed by bakeries, and their existing capacity can provide a suitable basis for implementing programs related to the standardization of flour production and reducing the amount of bran.

Referring to the necessity of accompanying industrial units with the new flour and bread policies, Nouri stated: the active flour factories of the province are fully prepared to take the necessary measures to standardize the production process and reduce the amount of bran in accordance with the approvals announced by the Ministry of Interior.

He pointed out: Utilizing the capacity of the province's active factories and coordination among related departments are among the requirements for the proper implementation of the new approvals. Because the change in the amount of bran must be applied in the production process of flour used by bakeries in order to provide bread supply in accordance with the set guidelines.

Details of the new resolution to reduce bran in all types of bread

Explaining the recent resolution of the Flour and Bread Council of the Ministry of Interior, Nouri said: According to this resolution, the amount of bran in bread types has decreased and certain percentages have been considered for different types of bread, which will be the basis for the implementation of the guidelines in the bakeries of the province after the official announcement.

Referring to the percentages set for different types of bread, he added: According to the new decree, the amount of bran is set at 6% for Sangak bread, 10% for Tufton and Lavash breads, and 13% for Berber bread.

The head of the General Department of Grain and Commercial Services of Kermanshah province continued: After the official notification, this instruction will be implemented at the level of the bakeries of the province, and related units must coordinate their activities with the established criteria.

The implementation of this resolution is important because the amount of remaining bran in flour is one of the factors affecting the nutritional characteristics of the final product. By reducing bran removal, more wheat bran is kept in flour and this issue can help to increase the amount of fiber and nutritional value of bread.

Based on this, the strict implementation of the new directive in the flour mills and the transfer of its results to the bread production chain is considered one of the important stages of realizing the anticipated goals in the field of improving the quality of bread.

Gradual development of wholemeal flour production and wholemeal bread supply

In another part of the conversation with the Mehr reporter, Nouri mentioned the issue of wholemeal flour production and said: In the wholemeal flour production process, the amount of bran is between 3 and 5%.

He added: Developing the production of wholemeal flour and increasing people's access to bread made from this type of flour is one of the programs that can be gradually expanded in the province with the provision of the necessary infrastructure.

Head of the General Department of Grain and Commercial Services of Kermanshah province, stating that the development of the supply of wholemeal bread requires the provision of the necessary platforms in the production and supply chain, stated: With the development of infrastructure, the number of bakery units supplying wholemeal bread in the province will increase.

According to him, the movement towards wider production and supply of wholemeal bread should be followed gradually and in accordance with the existing capacities in order to enable the expansion of this product in the network of bakeries of the province.

The production of whole flour by keeping more of the wheat grain components is one of the ways to improve the nutritional value of bread. In this process, the amount of bran removal is minimized and the resulting flour can be more valuable in terms of fiber content and some nutritional compounds, compared to flour from which more bran has been separated.

Therefore, the development of wholemeal flour production infrastructure and the increase in the number of bakeries that supply it, along with the implementation of the resolution to reduce bran extraction, are two complementary axes for improving the quality of bread and increasing the variety of bakery products in Kermanshah province.

The relative darkness of the bread is not a sign of poor quality

Referring to the possibility of changing the appearance of some breads due to the reduction of bran, Nouri asked the citizens not to pay attention to the appearance of the bread in evaluating the quality of the bread.

He pointed out: dear co-provincials should note that the relative darkness of bread produced in the province is not necessarily a sign of poor quality and can be caused by an increase in the percentage of bran and fiber in the flour.

The head of the General Department of Grain and Commercial Services of Kermanshah province added: Keeping wheat bran in the flour production process increases the nutritional value of bread, and from this point of view, the relative change in the color of bread can be related to the use of flour with more bran left in it.

Emphasizing the importance of informing consumers about the characteristics of bread produced with flour with more bran, he continued: Paying attention to the nutritional value of bread and knowing its appearance characteristics can help to improve consumers' view of products produced with flour with more bran.

In the end, Nouri pointed to the role of bread in meeting people's daily nutritional needs and emphasized: preserving wheat bran and increasing the fiber in flour are among the factors that can help improve the nutritional quality of bread and, within the framework of a suitable food pattern, play a role in preventing some diseases and improving the general health of society.