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Determination of water absorption and rheological properties using a farinograph

Summary

Profile Type
  • Technology offer
POD Reference
TOES20240429010
Term of Validity
29 April 2024 - 29 April 2025
Company's Country
  • Spain
Type of partnership
  • Commercial agreement with technical assistance
Targeted Countries
  • All countries
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General information

Short Summary
A Spanish technology center offers an innovative farinograph for measuring flour properties. It accurately determines water absorption and rheological properties, crucial in the flour and baking industry to ensure quality and consistency in final products like bread, cakes... Its advantage lies in reliable and reproducible measurements, optimizing quality control and baking processes. They seek commercial agreement with technical assistance and/or research and development cooperation agreement.
Full Description
The technology center, based in Palencia (Spain), works in food quality testing and analysis, boasting over 25 years of experience. They specialize in developing innovative technologies to tackle challenges in food production and quality control across various industries.

The problem addressed by this technology revolves around the precise measurement of flour properties to ensure consistent quality in flour-based products like bread, cakes, and cookies. Traditional methods lack precision and reproducibility, leading to variations in product quality and inefficiencies in the production process.

This solution enabling the accurate determination of water absorption and rheological properties of flour. This equipment hydrates and kneads flour at a constant speed in a temperature-controlled mixer, providing real-time data and graphical representation of dough behavior during mixing, facilitating quality control and process optimization.

The farinograph's innovative aspect lies in its ability to deliver reliable and reproducible measurements of flour properties, ensuring consistent product quality. Its graphical representation aids in understanding and optimizing mixing processes, while electronic measurement systems enhance accuracy and efficiency compared to manual methods.

The sought technical specifications and expertise focus on optimizing the performance, usability, and cost-effectiveness of the farinograph system for flour quality assessment.

This involves enhancing performance parameters like measurement precision and data acquisition speed, ensuring compatibility with different flour types and processing conditions, and improving automation capabilities.

Additionally, expertise in user-centered design and software development is sought to simplify operation procedures and streamline data analysis, making the Farinograph more user-friendly.
Cost optimization efforts aim to reduce overall ownership costs by optimizing manufacturing processes, sourcing cost-effective components, and implementing efficient service mechanisms.
Quality assurance expertise is essential to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements, including ISO 9001 and ISO 17025.

Collaboration with experts in intellectual property law is also sought to protect proprietary innovations related to farinograph technology through patent searches, applications, and portfolio management.

Opportunities for collaboration exist across various stages of development, from research and development to market deployment, fostering both early-stage innovation and commercialization efforts.

The technology center is looking for commercial agreement with technical assistance.
I addition, this partnership aims to enhance flour quality assessment methods and optimize production processes through joint research projects, technology transfer initiatives, and collaborative training programs, advancing flour milling practices globally.
Advantages and Innovations
The farinograph revolutionizes flour quality assessment with its precise and reproducible measurements, eliminating the inconsistencies of traditional subjective methods. Its real-time monitoring and graphical representation of dough behaviour allow immediate adjustments, crucial for large-scale milling operations ensuring consistent product quality. Integration of electronic systems streamlines testing, enhancing efficiency by reducing manual labour and errors.

Customization options enable tailored testing parameters, making it a versatile tool for meeting specific flour types or processing requirements. By providing accurate measurements of water absorption and rheological properties, the farinograph ensures consistent quality, facilitates process optimization, and gives flour millers a competitive edge.

Overall, its innovative features make it indispensable in the flour milling industry, offering a comprehensive solution for quality assessment and process optimization.
Stage of Development
  • Already on the market
Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Partner Sought

Expected Role of a Partner
The ideal partner would be a research institution or a technology company with expertise in food science, analytical instrumentation, and software development. Specifically, organizations specializing in food processing technology, flour quality assessment, or instrument development would be well-suited for collaboration.

The partner will be expected to contribute to the enhancement and optimization of the farinograph system. This may involve:
1. Collaborative research and development: Working closely with our team to conduct research on improving farinograph performance, exploring new measurement techniques, and developing algorithms for data analysis.
2. Technical expertise: Providing specialized knowledge in areas such as sensor technology, automation, data processing, and software development to enhance the functionality and usability of the Farinograph.
3. Prototype development: Co-designing and prototyping new features or components for the farinograph system based on research findings and user requirements.
4. Testing and validation: Conducting rigorous testing and validation procedures to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and robustness of the enhanced Farinograph system under various operating conditions.
5. Intellectual property management: Collaborating on intellectual property strategy, including patent analysis, filing, and licensing agreements, to protect and commercialize innovations arising from the partnership.
6. Knowledge exchange: Facilitating knowledge transfer and skill-sharing between the partner organization and our team to foster mutual learning and capacity building in relevant technical areas.
Type and Size of Partner
  • R&D Institution
  • SME 50 - 249
  • Big company
  • SME 11-49
  • University
Type of partnership
  • Commercial agreement with technical assistance

Dissemination

Technology keywords
  • 08001002 - Food Additives/Ingredients/Functional Food
  • 08002001 - Detection and Analysis methods
  • 08001005 - Food Technology
  • 08002002 - Food Microbiology / Toxicology / Quality Control
Market keywords
  • 09005 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Animal Husbandry & Related Products
  • 05009001 - Food & feed ingredients
  • 05008002 - Food and feed ingredients
  • 05009004 - Plant health
Targeted countries
  • All countries