Protect Your Consumers and Your Bottom Line: Flour Treatment Systems That Deliver from Ardent Mills

Food recalls are on the rise. Recent data from Sedgwick shows that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) saw a 27.6% increase in recalls for the first quarter of 2024 compared with the fourth quarter of 2023.¹

 As a CPG manufacturer, you face real risks regarding food safety, especially when using flour as an ingredient in products and applications. The good news is that flour treatments and ready-to-bake solutions can help protect consumers, minimize your risk of a recall due to flour-related food safety issues and help you protect your brand’s reputation.

A Look at the Risks

Like other foods grown in fields, raw wheat can be exposed to several possible pathogens, such as Salmonella sp., Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli – common culprits in food recalls.² These pathogens can come from the soil, water and birds or other animals. The traditional milling process does not have a kill step or pathogen control process, and flour is intended to be further processed to significantly reduce or prevent the risk of pathogens . As a result, if you’re a CPG manufacturer (and you’re expecting your customers to conduct a kill step), there can be unavoidable risk that the flour in your products contains environmental pathogens.³  

For example, a 2019 U.S. Food and Drug Administration survey found that many consumers are unaware of some of the risks associated with untreated flour,⁴ and recent Ardent Mills data supports these findings.⁵

Financial Considerations

Recalls are costly, with a small to medium recall of a single product costing an average of $10 million.⁶  They can also negatively impact the perception of your brand. A consumer sentiment report by Trustwell found that 18% of consumers would abandon a brand if the product caused sickness and another 43% would wait several months before buying from the brand again.⁷  

Flour is a particularly costly recall scenario in the U.S., according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Researchers from Michigan State University and Ohio State University looked at the economic burden from foodborne illnesses related to flour or flour-based products from 2001–2021 and found it totaled as much as $258 million.⁸  

It’s clear that recalls can have a huge impact on your business – both in the short and longer term. When we consider their potential costs, a proactive, preventive approach starts to make a lot of sense. Manufacturers looking to balance ingredient costs and risk management may greatly benefit from an upfront investment in flour treatments. 

Supply Chain Considerations

While pathogens can come from the environment and different steps in the supply chain, our goal is to help protect your brand. Pretreatments are a great way to reduce the risk of pathogens before the flour reaches store shelves.

We also recognize that you’re likely using different types of flour in your supply chain, so it’s important to know what flour treatments can be applied and how they might impact formulations. We’ll share some specifics as we discuss treatment options.

Now, let’s look at two ways Ardent Mills’ flour treatments could help protect your consumers and your brand.

Ready-to-Eat Flour Treatments

Flour treatments are a great way to reduce pathogens and prepare the raw ingredient for ready-to-eat applications. Ardent Mills SafeGuard™ Treatment & Delivery System uses advanced heat treatment technology for up to a five-log validated pathogen reduction process. In commercial use for well over a decade, our Ardent Mills SafeGuard™ Treatment & Delivery System helps manufacturers treat traditional wheat-based and alternative grains, flour, pulses, seeds and flakes.

One of the best things about Ardent Mills SafeGuard™ Treatment & Delivery System is its versatility. It can help manufacturers ensure products ranging from cookie dough and cold-pressed bars to appetizers and bakery mixes are ready to eat. 

Ready-to-Bake Treatments

Ready-to-bake products (like cake or bread mixes) and raw dough products (like frozen pizzas) rely on consumers following proper cooking instructions. If end consumers mishandle products, they could put themselves at risk. 

To minimize the dangers that come from undercooking a product, Ardent Mills innovated BakeSafer™ Treatments. Our treatments lower pathogen levels in wheat flour, reducing the risk of foodborne illness by a minimum of 90% and observed up to 99.9%.⁹  In addition, BakeSafer™ Treatments allow you to keep your current formulations and processes because the process of minimizing pathogens does not negatively impact wheat flour functionality.

A Competitive Edge

We’ve touched on how Ardent Mills SafeGuard™ Treatment & Delivery System and BakeSafer™ Treatments can help lower the risk of pathogen-related contamination and recalls. These treatments also have the potential to bolster your brand’s reputation for safety and quality products, which can instill a sense of trust in shoppers. According to Ideagen’s “2024 Food industry audit report,” a company’s reputation is critical in winning customer trust and loyalty.¹⁰

Food safety is one area where a brand can differentiate itself in a competitive market. It’s about creating products with consistent quality and reliability. Consumers may also be willing to pay more for products they perceive as safe.¹¹

From Risk Management to Market Leadership

We know you’re juggling competing priorities and real financial and process considerations. However, your brand can go a long way by prioritizing customer health and safety. 

At Ardent Mills, our approach to innovation is centered on your organization winning, and our solutions – Ardent Mills SafeGuard™ Treatment & Delivery System and BakeSafer™ Treatments – are great ways to help you lower your financial and reputational risk. Plus, flour treatments are an investment that can pay dividends through customer loyalty and increased market share. 

If you’re ready to become a market leader in flour safety, contact Ardent Mills today. Our team of experts is ready to support your product needs and make recommendations to help you grow your brand. 

Let's Continue the Conversation

[1] Flynn, Dan, “Food safety recalls were on different tracks during 2024’s first quarter,” Food Safety News, May 17, 2024, https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/05/food-safety-recalls-were-on-different-tracks-during-2024s-first-quarter

[2] “Most Common Causes of 2023 Food Safety Recalls (and How to Avoid Them in 2024),” AIB International, Jan 23, 2024, https://blog.aibinternational.com/most-common-causes-of-2023-food-safety-recalls-and-how-to-avoid-them-in-2024

[3] “Flour food safety: FAQs and answers,” Food Safety Magazine, January 25, 2019, https://www.food-safety.com/articles/606-flour-food-safety-faqs-and-answers

[4] Verrill, L., Lando, A.M., Wu, F., Tatavarthy, A., and Obenhuber, D., “Consumption of Raw Flour in the United States: Results from the 2019 U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Safety and Nutrition Survey,” Journal of Food Protection, Volume 85, Issue 1, 2022, Pages 31-35,

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X22056332?via%3Dihub

[5] Ardent Mills proprietary data

[6] “Focused Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration,” FDA,  https://www.fda.gov/media/89639/download

[7] Laura Petersen, “How Food Recalls Negatively Impact Consumer Trust and Perception,” Trustwell, June 13, 2023, https://blog.trustwell.com/customers-demand-no-more-recalls-why-customers-are-concerned

[8] Rahman, Rubait, Scharff, Robert L., and Wu, Felicia, “Foodborne disease outbreaks in flour and flour-based food products from microbial pathogens in the United States, and their health economic burden,” Risk Analysis, April 20, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.14132

[9] Ardent Mills Proprietary Research/Analysis

[10] “2024 Food industry audit report,” Ideagen, https://www.ideagen.com/thought-leadership/2024-food-industry-audit-report

[11] Kyung, MinSook, Kim, DongYoung, and Ham, Sunny, “Factors affecting the willingness to pay extra for safe food,” National Library of Medicine, Jan 26, 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10232205/