**2.3 The role of NIRS in cereal processing**

Analytical methods based on near infrared spectroscopy have the potential to significantly improve the quality of final cereal products by testing the products through the entire production process in processing industry (raw materials, intermediate and final products). For these purposes, on-line instruments as well as stand-alone bench type instruments designed for testing whole grains by measuring the intensity of transmission of NIR radiation from the spectral range 850-1050 nm or the intensity of diffuse reflection of NIR radiation from the spectral range 1000-1400 nm are the most suitable. For example, the determination of ash by NIRS is particularly useful for process control in the wheat milling industry to monitor the consistency of milling and the compliance with flour specifications. Although inorganic substances do not absorb energy in the NIR spectral region, some authors demonstrated that the NIRS method can be used for reliable prediction of the ash content (Dowell et al, 2006; Deaville & Flinn, 2000; Osborne, 2007; Pérez-Marín et al., 2004; Armstrong et al., 2006; Mentink et al., 2006; Pojić et al., 2010). Since ash content cannot be directly measured by NIRS, it is assumed that it is predicted by correlation with the total amount of organic compounds and water present, because of the large number of wavelengths used in the process of calibration development that give significant information (Osborne, 2007; Clark et al., 1987; Garnsworthy et al., 2000; Frankhuizen, 2008).
