CBC: Better instant noodles the aim of University of Manitoba research project

As the CBC reports:

A team of researchers from the University of Manitoba is building an ultrasound machine that aims to improve instant noodle production, thanks to a grant of more than half a million dollars from the federal government.

“Canada used to be known as the breadbasket of the world but I think increasingly it’s becoming the noodle manufacturer of the world in terms of the amount of wheat that’s grown on the prairies,” said Martin Scanlon, a food science researcher at University of Manitoba who’s working with a team on this project.

Scanlon’s team and ultrasound company VN Instruments are developing a machine that will make noodles more consistent.

Noodle manufacturers are struggling with the consistency of the noodle dough, how it’s mixed and how it’s rolled out, he said.

“Manufacturers have to cope with the variability with wheat so they have to adjust the process and sometimes [adjust the] ingredients to make sure they’re getting consistent noodles.”

The machine the team is building is designed to sense in real-time on the properties that indicate an inconsistent dough.

Ultimately, Scanlon hopes the machine will not only sense those properties, but fix the inconsistencies by adjusting the dough rolling conditions.