The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-09-29
IS INVESTIGATING BlEACHED FLOUR
"Bleaclling is Done to Deceive"-It
Takes Strength From the Flour.

In an interview with Food Commits
sioner Ladd on the subject of bleached
flours. he gave the following inter-
esting data:
1T has been claimed that the
bleaching of flour results in improv-
ing its quality. and it is for this rea-
son that millers claim to have re-
sorted to the use of the process OF
bleaching. 1t is further claimed that
the bleached -four will produce
larger loaf and superior bread to
that OF the unbleached product. While
such claims have been made on the
part of manufacturers of bleaching
apparatus. and by many millers who
are employing the process. neverthe-
less there are those among millers
who. although obliged to resort to the
use of bleaching, look upon it with
disfavor. l quote from one of the
leading millers of North Dakota:
Bleaching is done principally to
deceive. 1t takes the strength from
the -four; the loaf OF, bread is small
and sickly looking, Especially when
overbleached. The process is not
beneficial, and while the majority OF
millers bleach, ninety-nine in every
hundred are sorry that bleaching was
ever invented
SO we might quote from score of
letters. On the other hand, it would
be easy to quote similarly strong ar
guments in favor of bleaching from
other millers who are using the pro-
cess.
The question may be safely asked,
then, are there any advantages in the
way of improving the flour SO far as
its break-making capacity is concern
ed resulting from bleaching?
Prof. Harry Snyder, of the Mime
sofa experiment station, in Bulletin
SIS. reports some investigations in
bleaching. using nascen oxygen,
, which would be much less objection
able, from chemical standpoint, than
is the use of nitrous acid. now gener-
ally employed.
He says: The bleached fours
were whittier in color, but the gluten
was of poorer quality, being less elias
tic and lacking in expansive power.
He also says: The bleached flours
showed loss both as to expansion of
gluten and absorption of water
In his experiment in bread-making
ilC louul ludl luc UlccClcu ldu
lost to some extent the power of alb
sorption, and that it had not the same
expansive property as the unbleachad
flour, and therefore produced small
er loaf. The unbleached flour pro-
duced loaf of 255 cubic inches,
while the bleached flour produced a
loaf of 242 cubic inches. 1t is thus
evident that SO far as improvement,
in size of loaf, the claims of millers
are not borne out by the experiments
of Professor Snyder, who says:
Bleaching did not improve the
bread-making qualities of the flours,
the loaves from bleached fours being
smaller and lighter in weight
These experiments confirm our
own findings, and We might go fur
Their and state that our investigations
indicate that there is residue left
in the -four by the process of bleach
ing which cannot be looked upon with
favor.
This department has been investi-
eating the subject of bleaching for
several months and expects to contin-
ue the Investigations until sufficient
data has been collected to enable us
to determine with satisfaction the
actual facts with regard to the eff
feet of the bleaching.
We are also asked as to whether
the department will rule against
bleached flour. In reply to this l
can only say that if, no completion of
our Investigations, the results seem
to warrant some ruling in regard to
regulating the sale of this product,
ample provision is found in our pres
ent food laws for SO doing"