April 04, 2013

04/04/2013: Van Aarsen International appoints new director of sales; FFI tools; export cargo report indicates good US corn quality

Van Aarsen in Panheel has appointed Hans van der Weijden as their new sales director. Van Aarsen is internationally active as a specialist in the compound feed industry and has a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the design and construction of animal feed production systems comprising a high quality and innovative assortment of machinery.

Prior to his new appointment, Hans van der Weijden has had diverse commercial and technical functions in other branches and shall now concentrate his efforts on the international growth of Van Aarsen.


One of the first advocacy pieces that the Flour Fortification Initiative (FFI) network of partners created was a Flour Millers Tool Kit. The original piece, created in 2006, has been updated and is available on the FFI website.

The revised tool kit includes sample charts, illustrations, photos from various partners and video links. It has recently been demonstrated in meetings in Ethiopia and Kosovo, and it can serve as a manual for flour millers. It can also be used to help public and civic sector partners understand what is expected of flour millers as they fortify flour.

Jeff Gwirtz, one of the authors of the original Tool Kit, led the updating process. Jeff is an adjunct professor in the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University and is a technical advisor for the International Association of Operative Millers and FFI. He has a doctorate in grain science from Kansas State University, and he has worked in flour milling and food technology.
The Tool Kit can be downloaded in its entirety here or in individual sections as linked to the headings in the table below. The Tool Kit is in a Powerpoint format. Using it in “normal” view lets you move through the Tool Kit one page at a time and read the additional notes at the bottom of each slide. Viewing the Tool Kit as a slide show allows you to follow links to the six sections and follow links to specific topics from each section’s table of contents.

The U.S. Grains Council released the second of its annual USGC Corn Export Cargo Quality Report (Export Cargo Report) today. Despite the severe drought in 2012 that seriously reduced the projected size of the U.S. corn crop, testing indicated the 2012 crop was superior in quality across a number of key variables to the U.S, 2011 harvest, which was itself a high quality crop.

First released in May 2012, the Export Cargo Report provides the results of tests on corn samples collected during the U.S. government-licensed sampling and inspection process for U.S. corn export shipments. This year's report indicates that export samples had a higher test weight, lower incidence of broken corn and foreign material (BCFM) and lower moisture compared to the 2011/2012 export samples. In chemical composition, the report observed higher protein levels and lower starch, with oil content also higher.

Continuing the comparison to the previous year's report, the 2012/13 export samples showed fewer stress cracks and a lower average stress cracks index. In addition, this year's corn samples have higher true density, a higher proportion of whole kernels and a higher percentage  of horneous or hard endosperm, which are all favourable trends. The mycotoxin testing results showed a lower percentage of samples containing aflatoxins in levels greater than or equal to 5.0 parts per billion (ppb) and a lower percentage of samples containing deoxynivalenol/vomitoxin (DON) in levels greater than or equal to 0.5ppm. All samples tested below or equal to the FDA action level of 20 ppb for aflatoxins and the FDA advisory level of 5 ppm for DON.

“To enhance the quality of information we provide to export customers about the quality of the U.S. corn supply, the Council in 2011 initiated a series of annual Corn Quality Reports,” said USGC Chairman Don Fast. “These are developed in two parts. First, we publish a Harvest Quality Report that surveys U.S. corn quality at harvest as it enters the marketing system. Then a follow-up report in April, the Export Cargo Quality Report, looks at the quality of the corn crop as it is assembled for export early in the marketing year.”

“These two reports provide a systematic annual look at the quality of the U.S. corn crop, using reliable data and a transparent, consistent methodology each year. We have established processes for sample collection and testing, and as we follow those processes year after year we will assemble a reliable and comparable database of transparent, objective information about U.S. corn quality.”

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