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DDG as food-grade product

A professor at South Dakota State University is working on turning Dried Distillers Grains (DDG’s) into food-grade products.

Dr. Padu Krishnan says his research began three years ago.

“My project involves incorporating DDG at various levels, anywhere from 7 to 20 percent, into flour to make traditional products that we are familiar with.  It works well with cookies and flatbreads.”

DDG are a byproduct of the ethanol-making process and are most commonly used as a high-protein livestock feed.

Krishnan tells Brownfield the food-grade product is about 40 percent protein and 40 percent fiber.

“The corn is basically processed to remove the energy, which goes into the ethanol.  What remains is the residue of the production, and that is concentrated many-fold.  Because we are removing something that was 80 percent of that corn, which was starch.”

And Krishnan says the product needs to taste good for it to be successful.

“The question is how much (DDG) can you add, and what does it change in terms of functionality?  And ultimately, its got to be a good product; its got to be something that people eat.”

The Minnesota Corn Growers Association says it supports Dr. Krishnan’s research because food-grade DDG offers another use for corn.