Falling number

Transcript: Falling number

Video length: 1:49 minutes

Upbeat music

(Introduction: Canadian Grain Commission logo.)

The Falling Number test is used to evaluate the amount of alpha-amylase in your wheat. This enzyme is especially present in sprouted grain.

(Montage: Distilled water being added to a grinded sample of wheat.)

To calculate your Falling Number, the Canadian Grain Commission grinds a representative sample of your wheat and performs a moisture test.

Then we put two 7-gram subsamples, based on 14% moisture basis, into two separate test tubes and add distilled water.

(Montage: Test tubes are placed into Shakomatic machine and the mixture is vigorously shaken.)

Finally, we thoroughly shake the mixture until it forms a slurry.

(Montage: Stirrers are used to scrape the sides of the test tubes and push everything to the bottom.)

To ensure the most precise Falling Number result, it’s important that two tests be conducted simultaneously on the same sample of grain.

(Montage: Test tubes are placed in the Falling Number machine.)

The tubes are then placed in the Falling Number machine.

(Montage: The stirrers mix the slurry.)

This stirs the slurry for 60 seconds before releasing the stirrers so they fall through the slurry by their own weight.

(Montage: The stirrers are released and fall through the slurry.)

The time it takes the stirrers to fall through the slurry, including the 60 seconds of stirring, is your Falling Number result.

To learn more about Falling Number, visit www.grainscanada.gc.ca