| The Islamic Holy Month of Ramadan has begun and according to an advisory issued by the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana “the moon for Ramadan has not been sighted” and as such Taraweeh Prayers would have begun last evening while fasting commences today.Believed to be the month when the Holy Quran was revealed by Allah, the CIOG said that according to the Prophet Muhammad, “Ramadan is a month in which Allah showers you with endless blessings, He bestows His Mercy, forgives sins and answers prayers.”For a faith where most of the attention it garners comes from extremists who do not represent the majority this month is special. In it the Muslims believe that all good acts performed during this sacred time will be rewarded by Allah. They believe that committing to avoiding the prohibitions of the faith while undertaking all that is decent and lawful will help to bring about permanent improvements and changes in their lives. Changes that Muslims feel will benefit them not only in this life but in the next.The Organisation also issued a call to all Muslims to “welcome this month with sincerity, repentance, resolution, and commitment to obey Allah.” The release went on to ask Muslims to show their gratitude to Allah for all that He has given them by spending the days fasting, the nights praying, reciting the Quran and giving alms.**************************Local bakers given tips to improve practices…by Canadian wheat expertsSeveral officials from the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) and the Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI) met last week with bakers as the local flour milling company stepped up its efforts, under the ISO 9001 mandate, to further improve the sector and educate the players in the sector.The one-day event, coordinated by the National Milling Company of Guyana Inc. (NAMILCO), was held at the Boodram’s Bakery, Enmore/Foulis, East Coast Demerara last Thursday and saw an estimated 50 persons attending,Nike Air Max Outlet Store, including bakers and their representatives.Canadian wheat officials during a tour of a city bakery last week.Also attending the seminar was Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana,Air Max 97 Womens, Francois Montour.Prior to the seminar, several bakeries in the city were visited by the team of wheat experts who came via Boa Vista/Lethem to Guyana thus getting an opportunity to see the vast expanse of Guyana’s forest.CWB, marketers of over 450 Canadian wheat farmers, has sold Guyana over 200,000 tonnes of wheat over the past four years. NAMILCO and the Canadian officials also visited a number of bakeries in Brazil where Guyana has started to sell flour.Addressing the participants, the Canadian High Commissioner noted that his country’s wheat is one of the highest quality in the world. He lauded NAMILCO, CWB and CIGI for taking the initiative and for the collaborative relationship.Yvonne Supeene, Bakers Specialist of CIGI, noted that it is not unusual for bakers and others to blame the flour milling company when there are problems. However, with the high quality Canadian wheat, she suggested that maybe the baking processes could be improved. In the case where flour has already been purchased and are in the baker’s possession, techniques can be employed to optimize the quality of the end productShe noted that several changes, chemically and otherwise,Nike Air Max 1 Mens Shoe, take place when the flour is mixed into dough. While it may seem straightforward, factors such as dough temperature, yeast, additives and whether it is over-mixed or under-mixed, all have to be taken into account. She stressed that dough heats up on mixing and in the local climate, this is not good for baking. To alleviate this,Air Max 97 Silver Bullet For Sale, it is necessary to cool the dough by using chilled water.She has found that bakers do not add enough water to the flour thus producing stiff dough which is tough to work with. By adding more water, they could get more pliable dough and better yields.To emphasize her point, she did two demonstrations using tap water versus chilled water and passed around pieces of the dough for participants to feel the difference. She also provided them with a formula on how to determine water temperature and pointed out it was better to add the fat after mixing for a while rather than putting it with the dry flour. She mentioned that there is no one way to baking, as in many cases the technique was handed down through generations and different baking equipment was used, but there are certain fundamentals that must be adhered to.According to Lisa Nemeth, a CWB representative,Air Max 97 Silver, the wheat sold to Guyana is grown in Winnipeg, a province located plumb in the middle of Canada and North America.Not many are aware of the complexities of the wheat industry – from the research into different classes of wheat in order to find the right quality to the controls exercised prior to shipping to the customer.With a Grain Commission to fully police the export of wheat to ensure the highest of quality, the official stressed that research is ongoing to ensure that better grains are being produced to meet customers’ demands.The monitoring is so intense that farmers cannot grow grain that does not meet certain requirements.CIGIs Director, Larry Taylor, noted that it was gratifying to see Canada’s wheat so widely used in Guyana and disclosed that several parties are responsible for making Canadian wheat among one of the best rated in the world.These players include the farmers, CWB, the customers, the Grain Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture of that country.He stressed that throughout the entire process, the wheat is being tested and graded accordingly to ensure that quality and safety requirements are met.Since 1972, some 35,Nike Air Max Tn Shoes Women,000 persons involved worldwide in the baking business have been trained by the CIGI, he revealed. This year two were trained from Namilco.Last week, NAMILCO officials said that since early this year, it started to export flour to neighbouring Brazil and this was quickly accepted by bakers because it was found to be of better quality.According to the officials, the state of Roraima has to ship flour from as far away as Manaus and Forteleza and sometimes the quality is not as good.NAMILCO has lamented that at present there is no flour in Boa Vista as shipments had ceased because of the state of the road to Lethem.A senior official has pointed out that it is very discouraging to expend time and money to enter a new market and then find yourself unable to meet the customers’ requirements.He hoped that this situation will be alleviated with the building of a warehouse in Lethem to hold buffer stocks of flour, but this will not be completed until year end. |
