Quality Control for Baking Ingredients

Quality control for baking ingredients is the routine inspection and testing of flour, grains and other inputs, checking moisture, enzyme activity, contaminants and defects, so they are safe and perform as a recipe expects.

  • Food safety
  • Ingredients & quality

Ingredient quality control is the hands-on part of a quality program: checking each incoming ingredient against a specification before it goes into a mix. For flour, the federal standard of identity sets moisture at no more than 15 percent, requires that at least 98 percent pass through a 212-micron (No. 70) sieve, and caps ash relative to protein. The falling number test, used in official USDA grain inspection, indirectly measures alpha-amylase activity, which is linked to sprout damage in wheat. Checks for mycotoxins, pests and physical defects round out the picture.

Ingredient problems pass straight into finished goods. High alpha-amylase activity from sprout damage harms end-use quality, and contracts commonly call for a falling number of at least 300 seconds. Fusarium head blight can leave the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON, or vomitoxin) in wheat, and FDA's advisory level for finished wheat products such as flour, bran and germ is 1 ppm. CGMP rules require raw materials to be inspected and to meet FDA limits for natural toxins. Most flour is also raw, untreated for germs.

Key facts

Flour moisture limit
15% maximum (21 CFR 137.105)
Flour granulation
At least 98% through a 212 µm (No. 70) sieve
Common falling-number minimum
300 seconds
FDA DON advisory level
1 ppm in finished wheat products

In a bakery or commercial kitchen

  • Inspect every delivery, segregate it until accepted, and store it to prevent contamination and allergen cross-contact
  • Compare each lot's moisture, ash, protein and falling number against your written specification
  • Hold susceptible ingredients, such as grains and nuts, to FDA limits for aflatoxin and other natural toxins
  • Keep frozen ingredients frozen, and hold others at temperatures and humidity that prevent adulteration
  • Label any material set aside for rework as rework so it is not mistaken for fresh stock

For home and cottage bakers

  • Treat flour as a raw ingredient and don't taste unbaked dough or batter
  • Use heat-treated flour and pasteurized or no eggs for edible cookie dough recipes
  • Throw away any recalled flour or baking mix, even if it has sat in the pantry for months

Related entries

Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 17, 2026.

  1. 21 CFR 117.80 Processes and controls, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (Code of Federal Regulations)
  2. 21 CFR 137.105 Flour, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (Code of Federal Regulations)
  3. Two Changes to Official Falling Number Determination for Wheat, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Federal Grain Inspection Service
  4. Keeping a Mycotoxin in Check Through Ongoing Research, Sound Sampling & Producer Awareness, U.S. Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative (Cornell University)
  5. Raw Flour and Dough, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention