SPOKANE, WASH. — The National Barley Foods Council and the Wheat Marketing Center are partnering to sponsor a workshop later this spring for professional bakers and food producers interested in learning how to incorporate barley flour into commercial baking applications.

“The National Barley Foods Forum — A Healthy Solution for Commercial Baking Applications,” is scheduled for April 14 at the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Ore. The one-day workshop is designed to give commercial and artisan bakers as well as research and development and sales and marketing personnel practical solutions for improving the nutrition and health benefits of typical wheat-based products with the addition of barley flour.

“Food and cereal scientists have studied the nutritional and functional impacts of barley on baked products and there is clear evidence that incorporating barley flour into consumer favorites such as pan breads, bagels and tortillas can significantly enhance the nutritional qualities of the end product,” said Mary Palmer Sullivan, executive director of the N.B.F.C. “The time has come to put these scientific findings to work in the real world of commercial food production. This workshop will go a long way in showing commercial and artisan bakers how to do just that.”

In addition to hands-on demonstrations, workshop participants will receive an updated list of barley ingredient suppliers.

“We want to make sure that our participants leave this event with as much practical information as possible so they can begin to incorporate barley flour into their own applications,” Ms. Sullivan said.

The N.B.F.C. encourages millers and grain suppliers who sell barley flour as a commercial food ingredient to provide product information and specifications for inclusion in the workshop materials.

For more information, contact Mary Palmer Sullivan at mary@wagrains.com or (509) 456-2481, or visit www.barleyfoods.org.