KPM Analytics Receives ICC Approval for Alveolab® Adapted Hydration Protocol

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. USA (May 4, 2023) – KPM Analytics (www.kpmanalytics.com) is pleased to announce its Alveolab® Adapted Hydration Protocol has earned approval from the International Association for Cereal Science Technology (ICC). The Adapted Hydration Protocol (ICC 188) allows Alveolab users to perform tests on flour types that require different hydration levels from the Constant Hydration Protocol Alveograph standard (ICC 121), thus, opening users to more applications beyond soft white wheat flour.

For over 100 years, bakers, flour millers, and researchers have used the Alveograph test to evaluate wheat flour and determine its properties to produce baked goods. Confronted with constantly evolving varieties, market demands led researchers and applications specialists at CHOPIN Technologies (now KPM Analytics) to investigate a different method for the Alveograph to test flour types with various water absorption capacities. 

This effort led to the creation of the Adapted Hydration Protocol for the Alveolab, one of the instruments in the Alveograph Test Series from KPM Analytics. Officially introduced in 1998, the Adapted Hydration Protocol offers greater flexibility to test flours with a water amount corresponding to the wheat's water absorption potential.

“Today, there remains a common misconception throughout the milling and baking industry that Alveograph testing is only possible with soft wheat flour. However, the Adapted Hydration Protocol has been used successfully for over 25 years,” says Arnaud Dubat, Products & Applications Director with KPM Analytics. “This ICC certification boldly dismisses this misconception, which benefits bakers and millers to control quality while expanding their product lines to meet their customer’s diverse tastes.”

To conduct the Adapted Hydration Protocol, a Consistograph included with the Alveolab first analyzes the water absorption of the flour in four minutes. This water absorption information is then used to hydrate the dough and perform the Alveograph test with the Alveolab without any other modifications.

“The ICC approval of the Alveolab Adapted Hydration Protocol represents a major step forward for the baking and milling industry,” says Dubat. "While many have used the Adapted Hydration Protocol for years, this validation opens the doors for other bakers and millers who may have hesitated to apply Alveograph testing on other wheat four types. They can be more confident that they serve their customers with the best possible quality." 

The Adapted Hydration Protocol certification joins a host of other KPM Analytics products that have received approvals from the ICC, including:

   ·  The Constant Hydration Protocol available on the Alveolab and AlveoPC (ICC 121)

   ·  The Mixolab 2 universal dough characterizer (ICC 173-1)

   ·  The SDmatic starch damage analyzer (ICC 172)

Learn more about Alveolab and its additional protocols, including a new first-of-its-kind option to analyze whole wheat flour.

About KPM Analytics

KPM Analytics is a global leader in scientific instrumentation, focused primarily on analyzing critical parameters within the food, feed, agriculture, and environmental sectors. We provide a comprehensive range of products and services to solve our customers' problems uniquely. Our product brands are AMS Alliance, Bruins Instruments, CHOPIN Technologies, EyePro System, Process Sensors, Sensortech, Sightline Process Control, Smart Vision Works, and Unity Scientific. Each has a long history of delivering advanced and reliable analysis solutions to ensure product quality and optimize process efficiency, with customer service at the center of everything we do.