The fact that flour milling hasn’t fundamentally changed much for thousands of years, indicates that it’s a pretty efficient process. The first attempts at creating flour from wheat using millstones, occurred around 6000BC. Repeatedly grinding the wheat kernels between two heavy, wheel shaped stones was the method of choice for hundreds of years. At the start of the industrial era, 1779, London saw the arrival of the first steam mill. Roughly 100 years later, the process was mechanised in Europe using stone disks, eventually replaced by steel rolls. As time moved on, pneumatic conveyors were used instead of mechanical conveyors, and human baggers were replaced by automatic bagging machines.
There have been lots of other developments through the years as state of the art technology was introduced into the industry.
Although the process of milling itself has remained the same over the last century, there have been little improvements here and there. One of these is the introduction of colour sorting technology. This is extremely helpful for identifying and removing foreign particles and damaged kernels. The sheer amount of automation introduced to the industry over the last 30 or so years has improved the performance of mills in every way imaginable. There have been a host of upgrades to machinery and equipment used to process the grain.
The charm of the milling industry is its traditional feel, even though it is used to process products that are in high demand. Not many people don’t have a loaf of bread or a product containing flour in their pantry. There was panic during the first lockdowns, when everything was in turmoil, and the bread shelves were sometimes empty. Many people began to make their own bread, which resulted in a flour shortage, although it didn’t take long to get back to normal.
Greater productivity has been the result of aids within the industry to tackle and reduce human error. Advances in management of data and information has also helped to produce consistently high standards. Flour milling processes are the safest and most efficient they have ever been throughout history. The milling environment has become more and more stringent about hygiene and required practices. There is now no product or environment contamination, and other issues have been drastically reduced such as food product leakage.
Exceptional quality facilities designed and installed by experts such as Brookshaw Stuart Ltd, have boosted production in places like Selby, Grimsby, Doncaster and York. With specialist installers, equipment needs less maintenance and repairs, and functions seamlessly.
Governments as well as consumers have raised the bar when it comes to standards in food safety. Manufacturers of milling equipment have responded by designing products which address this issue. Head of Business Area Milling Solutions at Bühler, Stefan Birrer said: “Food safety has had a major impact on the design of modern cleaning houses. “With efficient colour sorting, the precision of sorting has increased a lot. This has not only increased food safety but has contributed greatly to saving energy and raw material in our plants.”
Years ago, finding and disposing of stones or other anomalies in flour was always a priority within the industry, but nowadays it’s a permanent conversation topic. Every piece of equipment and every tool used in the milling process has been redesigned with safety in mind. In today’s mills the flour is safe and the flour mill is not a dangerous place to work.