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Oats and its processing

By PMG Engineering ·

Introduction

Oats, once humorously dismissed in early English literature, are now recognized globally as a nutritious superfood. With a rich agricultural heritage dating back to the Neolithic era, oats (Avena sativa) are now a cornerstone of the health food industry—widely consumed in breakfast cereals, baked goods, and health snacks. This article explores the oats processing lifecycle, its industrial importance, and the role of food manufacturing consultants in optimizing oat-based product lines.

Market of Oats

Once used merely as livestock feed, oats have emerged as a high-demand, nutrient-dense crop in the food and beverage sector. In 2018, the global oats market was valued at USD 4.90 billion, with an estimated CAGR of 5.5% during 2020–2025. This rapid growth is largely due to increasing awareness of healthy living and a rise in urban demand for quick and healthy breakfast options.

Key Applications of Oats

  • Consumer foods (cereals, granola, cookies)
  • Cosmetics and personal care
  • Animal feed and nutritional supplements

Why Oats?

Oats are rich in:

  • Proteins, vitamins, and dietary fiber
  • Antioxidants such as avenanthramides
  • Health benefits for diabetics, heart patients, and those with chronic lifestyle disorders

As food processing consultants, professionals often recommend oats in product development for functional foods and health-centric consumer brands.

Market segmentation of oats

Processing of Oats

The journey from raw oats to consumable food involves a multi-stage processing pipeline. As food manufacturing consultants and plant design experts, ensuring optimized hygienic handling, energy efficiency, and automation in this process is critical for quality and compliance.

Milling

Arrival of oats from farmers starts of the milling process. There are many quality checks to be done at the reception point to ensure good quality end product. They are tested for weight, moisture, foreign materials, insects, taints, and odours. Any parameter outside the satisfactory result will lead to rejection.

1. Reception and Cleaning

Raw oats arriving from farms are stored in silos and undergo rigorous quality testing for:

  • Moisture content
  • Contaminants (stones, glass, metal)
  • Foreign materials or discoloration

Processing equipment includes:

  • Rotary sieves
  • Color sorters
  • Magnetic separators
  • De-stoners

This stage aligns with GMP protocols recommended by leading food consultancy services.

2. Dehulling

The indigestible outer hull is removed using an impact huller, where high-speed rotation separates the husk from the groat. The process enhances palatability and improves digestibility.

  • Rubber ring hullers operate at ~1850 RPM
  • Groats are aspirated and polished for further use
  • Husks are recycled into by-products

3. Kilning

Kilning involves:

  • Heating oats to 80–150°C for up to 120 minutes
  • Moisture reduction to below 13%
  • Enzyme deactivation to prevent rancidity
  • Development of characteristic oat flavor and aroma

4.    Steel Cutting

Some oat varieties undergo steel cutting to create broken groats, used in quick-cook oatmeal and other specialty formats. A rotary blade ensures precision slicing of groats.

5.    Steaming, Flaking and Cooling

Pre-conditioning by steaming softens the groats:

  • Roller flaking ensures desired thickness (0.25–0.8 mm)
  • Cooling systems bring oats to 45°C for safe packaging and prolonged shelf life

This stage is key to determining the final product quality, and is often automated in modern food processing plants.

Conclusion: A Staple for the Future

Oats have evolved from humble origins to become a global health food staple. Their processing is a testament to innovation in food technology, plant engineering, and sustainable processing. As the world pivots toward healthier eating habits, processed oats will continue to rise in demand—making it a prime segment for investment, automation, and R&D in the food industry.

References

1.    http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Oatmeal.html

2.    https://archive.gramene.org/species/avena/oat_intro.html

Frequently asked
What quality checks should we run on oats at the reception point before milling?
At the reception point of an oat milling line, incoming oats are tested for weight, moisture, foreign materials, insects, taints and odours, plus contaminants such as stones, glass and metal, and any discolouration. Any parameter outside satisfactory limits leads to rejection of the consignment. Raw oats are stored in silos, and this stage aligns with GMP protocols recommended by food consultancy services.
Which cleaning equipment do we need in the oat reception and cleaning section?
Oat reception and cleaning typically uses rotary sieves, colour sorters, magnetic separators and de-stoners. Together they remove stones, glass, metal, foreign material and discoloured grain before dehulling, and support moisture-content verification. Specifying this equipment set correctly at the front end protects downstream hulling, kilning and flaking performance and helps the plant meet GMP expectations for a hygienic oat processing line.
How is the oat hull removed, and what happens to the husk?
In oat processing the indigestible outer hull is removed using an impact huller, where high-speed rotation separates the husk from the groat, improving palatability and digestibility. Rubber ring hullers operate at approximately 1850 RPM. The groats are then aspirated and polished for further use, while the separated husks are recycled into by-products rather than discarded.
What are the kilning parameters for oats and why is this step necessary?
Kilning of oats involves heating to 80–150°C for up to 120 minutes, reducing moisture to below 13%. The step deactivates enzymes to prevent rancidity and develops the characteristic oat flavour and aroma. Because kilning governs both shelf stability and sensory profile, temperature and residence time control in the kiln is a critical design parameter in an oat processing plant.
What flake thickness and cooling temperature should we target on the flaking line?
After pre-conditioning by steaming to soften the groats, roller flaking is set to achieve the desired thickness of 0.25–0.8 mm. Cooling systems then bring the oats down to 45°C for safe packaging and prolonged shelf life. Steaming, flaking and cooling largely determine final oat product quality, and this stage is often automated in modern food processing plants.
Why are oats considered a good segment for investment in food processing?
The global oats market was valued at USD 4.90 billion in 2018, with an estimated CAGR of 5.5% during 2020–2025, driven by healthy-living awareness and urban demand for quick, healthy breakfasts. Oats supply proteins, vitamins, dietary fibre and antioxidants such as avenanthramides, and serve consumer foods like cereals, granola and cookies, cosmetics and personal care, and animal feed and nutritional supplements.
CITE THIS

PMG Engineering. (2023). Oats and its processing. PMG Engineering. https://pmg.engineering/Article/185/oats-and-its-processing/

https://pmg.engineering/Article/185/oats-and-its-processing/