The present invention relates to the field of agriculture. In particular the invention provides a protein, a nucleic acid, a recombinant gene, plants comprising the recombinant gene and methods for altering the number of spikelets per spike of a wheat plant.

There is described an edible particulate material comprising from 80% to 100% by weight based on total weight of the material of a processable, microbially released, flavour acceptable bran-like material, characterized by the following parameters: (i) mean particle size by volume (Vol. MPS) of from 5 to 100 microns; (ii) volume particle size distribution (Vol. PSD) characterized by the parameters: D.sub.90,3 less than or equal to 350 microns, and D.sub.50,3 less than or equal to 50 microns, and optionally D.sub.10,3 less than or equal to 15 microns, (iii) mean particle sphericity as measured by a S.sub.mean of greater than or equal to 0.75; (iv) where processable means has oil holding capacity (OHC) of from 0.7 to 1.5; (v) where microbially released means material has common microbes below given limits (preferably free of common microbes) (vi) where flavour acceptable denotes a lipase activity (LA) and a peroxidase activity (PA) both less than or equal to 2 U/g optionally a low degree of roasted flavour notes as defined herein. The bran as described may added to foodstuffs for example be used as a bulk ingredient to replace sugar and/or to provide filling and/or coatings having improved hiding ability when used as layers in multilayer foodstuffs.

There is described an edible particulate material comprising from 80% to 100% by weight based on total weight of the material of a processable, microbially released, flavour acceptable bran-like material, characterized by the following parameters: (i) mean particle size by volume (Vol. MPS) of from 5 to 100 microns; (ii) volume particle size distribution (Vol. PSD) characterized by the parameters: D.sub.90,3 less than or equal to 350 microns, and D.sub.50,3 less than or equal to 50 microns, and optionally D.sub.10,3 less than or equal to 15 microns, (iii) mean particle sphericity as measured by a S.sub.mean of greater than or equal to 0.75; (iv) where processable means has oil holding capacity (OHC) of from 0.7 to 1.5; (v) where microbially released means material has common microbes below given limits (preferably free of common microbes) (vi) where flavour acceptable denotes a lipase activity (LA) and a peroxidase activity (PA) both less than or equal to 2 U/g optionally a low degree of roasted flavour notes as defined herein. The bran as described may added to foodstuffs for example be used as a bulk ingredient to replace sugar and/or to provide filling and/or coatings having improved hiding ability when used as layers in multilayer foodstuffs.

A method is provided for producing intensified whole-cereal flour by means of pulsed electric fields in collaboration with ultrafine pulverization, which includes: (1) preparing bran, middling and flour by cleaning, modulating and milling cereal grains; (2) performing superfine pulverization on the bran and the middling and performing sieving; (3) preparing a suspension by using water and the sieved bran and middling, and stirring constantly; (4) adding polysaccharide colloids into the suspension, and adjusting the pH to 4.0; (5) performing high-voltage pulse treatment on the suspension to ensure stable flow of the suspension; (6) centrifuging the suspension to separate the supernatant, and drying the obtained precipitate and performing sieving to obtain the treated bran and middling; and (7) mixing the treated bran and middling with flour uniformly to obtain whole-cereal flour.

A method is provided for producing intensified whole-cereal flour by means of pulsed electric fields in collaboration with ultrafine pulverization, which includes: (1) preparing bran, middling and flour by cleaning, modulating and milling cereal grains; (2) performing superfine pulverization on the bran and the middling and performing sieving; (3) preparing a suspension by using water and the sieved bran and middling, and stirring constantly; (4) adding polysaccharide colloids into the suspension, and adjusting the pH to 4.0; (5) performing high-voltage pulse treatment on the suspension to ensure stable flow of the suspension; (6) centrifuging the suspension to separate the supernatant, and drying the obtained precipitate and performing sieving to obtain the treated bran and middling; and (7) mixing the treated bran and middling with flour uniformly to obtain whole-cereal flour.

The present disclosure relates to methods of reducing the formation of acrylamide in a thermally processed food product and to cooked food products with reduced acrylamide. The method comprises providing a food product or food intermediate in need of reduction of formation of acrylamide during thermal processing and applying a bran composition to the food product or food intermediate in an amount effective to reduce formation of acrylamide during thermal processing to a level that is lower than if the composition had not been applied.

The present disclosure relates to methods of reducing the formation of acrylamide in a thermally processed food product and to cooked food products with reduced acrylamide. The method comprises providing a food product or food intermediate in need of reduction of formation of acrylamide during thermal processing and applying a bran composition to the food product or food intermediate in an amount effective to reduce formation of acrylamide during thermal processing to a level that is lower than if the composition had not been applied.

The present invention relates to the solubilisation of cereal bran, for preparing compositions comprising soluble fractions of cereal bran and the use of these compositions comprising solubilised cereal bran for the preparation of food products, such as bread.

The present invention relates to the solubilisation of cereal bran, for preparing compositions comprising soluble fractions of cereal bran and the use of these compositions comprising solubilised cereal bran for the preparation of food products, such as bread.

The invention relates to the use of inulinase for reducing FODMAP (Fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols) content in wholemeal bread or whole-meal dough. The invention further relates to wholemeal yeast fermented bread with a FODMAP content of maximum 0.2 gram fructans per 50 g of bread on dry matter base. The invention relates to methods of preparing a wholemeal yeast fermented bread with reduced FODMAP content, comprising the steps of mixing wholemeal and inulinase into a dough, allowing the dough to ferment and baking the dough. The invention further relates to methods of preparing a wholemeal dough with reduced FODMAP content in a wholemeal dough, comprising the steps of mixing wholemeal and inulinase into a dough, allowing the dough to ferment. Yeasts such as Kluyveromyces marxianus can be used as source of inulinase.