Effect of milling,pasta making and cooking on minerals in durum wheat

The effect of technological processing on the contents of eight minerals – i.e., calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, and zinc – was investigated in pasta making. Milling of durum wheat as well as pasta making were carried out in a pilot plant by using three different grain samples. Pasta samples purchased on the market were also surveyed to gain information on the mineral content of commercial products. The effect of cooking was also investigated in order to determine the retention of the selected elements in the final ‘ready-to-eat’ product. Analyte concentrations in whole grains, semolina, pasta and cooked pasta were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.