Australia: Barley Australia creates new Food Barley classification for varieties failing to meet malting standards

Barley Australia announced on November, 18 the creation of a new Food Barley classification for barley varieties which have not met malting accreditation standards, but at the same time, have the quality potential to be utilized in the marketplace for purposes other than stockfeed.

The decision to create this new Food classification was precipitated by the recent decision of the Malting and Brewing Industry Barley Technical Committee (MBIBTC) to recommend to Barley Australia that the variety Hindmarsh should not be awarded malting accreditation status in Australia, as already announced.

Whilst Hindmarsh has failed to meet the standards set by MBIBTC for official malting status, Hindmarsh does have limited demand in markets where a feed classification (the only current alternative to malt) would invalidate it as a variety that could be processed for human consumption, Barley Australia said.

Mr Neil Barker, the Executive Manager of Barley Australia said that the creation of this classification is an appropriate response to a diversifying market, where customers can now be offered a choice of barley qualities which are more descriptive of the purposes for which they are intended, rather than either Malt or Feed. A number of new varieties are being developed specifically for food rather than malting and this new classification would enable grain marketers and farmers to extract a potential premium where otherwise the barley would end up in the feed bin.

Hindmarsh has shown potential to be a variety suitable for Shochu production in the Japanese market, which currently requires the barley to have minimum malt classification. It is Barley Australia’s view that the new food classification will enable Hindmarsh and other future varieties with unique food processing or biochemical characteristics to be recognized independently to the current malt and feed barley classifications.

The Food Classification will create opportunities for both growers and marketers to cater for these specialist markets, Mr Barker said

Barley Australia members have agreed that these types of barley varieties will need to meet all of the other physical quality requirements which apply to accredited malting barleys, such as protein, test weight, screenings and retention, before they can be accepted into Food Barley segregations.

Barley Australia acknowledges that segregations of this type will be at the discretion of the marketers and market demand, but that this new classification creates a segregation opportunity that otherwise would have been lost.

19 November, 2010