Hard winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major crop in the Great Plains of the United States, and our previous work demonstrated that wheat genotypes vary for grain cadmium accumulation with some exceeding the CODEX standard (0.2 mg kg(-1)). Previous reports of cadmium distribution in flour milling fractions have not included high cadmium grain. This study measured the distribution of cadmium, zinc, and iron in flour and bran streams from high cadmium (0.352 mg kg(-1)) grain on a pilot mill that produced 12 flour and four bran streams. Recovery in flour was substantially greater for cadmium (50%) than for zinc (31%) or iron (22%). Cadmium, zinc, and iron in the lowest mineral concentration flour stream, representing the purest endosperm fraction, were 52, 22, and 11%, respectively, of initial grain concentration. Our results indicate that, relative to zinc and iron, a greater proportion of cadmium is stored in the endosperm, the source of white flour.
Keywords: cadmium; iron; milling; wheat (Triticum aestivum L.); zinc.