The process of making oat grains into food is called milling. In this video, Terry takes us through the various steps in the milling process and shows how quality assurance and food safety are ensured at every step along the way. The milling of oats not only produces nutritious food for people, it also creates a number of by-products that are used as feed and bedding for livestock and pet food.
The oats arrive at the mill in a semi truck or by rail cars. The receiving department will take a sample of the grain in the semi truck with a vacuum probe to assess the quality of the oats. After the sample is approved, the semi truck is unloaded into the receiving pit.
Once inside the processing plant, the oats are cleaned to remove weed seeds, straw and foreign materials. This equipment uses air and screens to remove impurities from the oats.
The outer husk of the oat seed is called the hull, and it is removed in a process called de-hulling. The remaining inner portion of the oat is called a groat and this is what we eat.
The groats are steamed and rolled into flakes. Once the groats are rolled into flakes, they are dried and cooled using air.
Sources: FarmFood360