Major international milling symposium in Hamburg
Over 300 visitors came to the Fourth Mühlenchemie symposium “Future of Flour” – Transfer of knowledge is essential if we are to meet the challenges of the future.
Our world is currently undergoing enormous changes. The earth’s population is growing continuously, the climate is becoming progressively warmer, and globalization is making economic developments more and more unpredictable.
Although these changing conditions have very different effects on individual regions, they have one thing in common: a considerable influence on human nutrition.
Since flour is a staple food in nearly all cultures, the international milling industry has a special responsibility.
In order to help mills meet the growing challenges of the future, Mühlenchemie issued an invitation to the Fourth International Symposium “Future of Flour – Economic, Functional & Nutritional Aspects” in Hamburg in September 2011.
310 visitors from 60 countries discussed requirements in the field of flour production at present and in the future and 32 specialist papers held by research scientists, economists, experienced millers and representatives of public institutions gave the participants valuable information and stimulus.
The latest research results and examples of applications were presented under the headings “The Future of Wheat”, “Emerging Asian Wheat Producers”, “Milling”, “Flour Fortification”, “Science & Technology”, “Baking” and “Ingredients”.
Lennart Kutschinski, Managing Director of Mühlenchemie and the initiator of the symposium, drew a positive balance for the three-day meeting: “The specialist programme was an important component of the symposium this year too. But in the conversations and discussions between the papers, and at the evening events, we came to realize yet again how much the daily work of the millers can help to shape the future of our world. We feel it’s important to offer the industry a forum for exchanging knowledge and experience and where the “milling family” can learn from each of its members.”
One of the highlights was the presentation of the “flour art award 2010”.
Mühlenchemie started collecting flour sacks with their fascinating motifs 13 years ago; in 2008 the company even created a home of its own for them, the “flour art museum”, where over 2,400 exhibits from every corner of the earth can be viewed.
So of course the flour sacks were given the attention they deserve at the symposium too: at the end of the two-day information marathon, Volkmar Wywiol, the founder of the museum and managing partner of Mühlenchemie, presented the “flour art award” newly established by him.
The aim of this competition was to find the most attractive motif with a historical, regional or milling background. Three mills from Mexico, Russia and the Lebanon reached the final round; the winner was the mill Harinas del Sureste from Mexico, with a picture of a pheasant.
As a souvenir of the symposium Volkmar Wywiol presented each participant with a commemorative key-ring pendant.
For this purpose, Mühlenchemie had had a bronze pendant of the figure “The Corn Grinder” specially cast as a limited edition created by the artist Yves Rasch.
It symbolizes the arduous but essential task of corn grinding. In ancient Egypt, statuettes of these corn-grinding women were often used as burial objects.
The woman’s task was to relieve the deceased person of hard work in the realm of the dead. Mühlenchemie owns a valuable copy of such an Egyptian statuette in its original size (27 x 40 cm) at the company’s own flour art museum in Wittenburg, Germany.