Cereal Chem 55:889 - 897.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Microflora of Wheat and Wheat Flour from Six Areas of the United States.

R. F. Rogers and C. W. Hesseltine. Copyright 1978 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Bacterial counts in 54 wheat samples varying from 870 to 3,100,000 per gram generally were higher than in corresponding flour samples. Of 54 flour samples, bacterial counts per gram were less than 5,000 in 32 samples and less than 10,000 in 43. In 32 patent flours, bacterial counts per gram were less than 5,000 in 25 samples and less than 10,000 in 30. In most samples, fungal and actinomycete counts were inconsistent, but were lower than bacterial counts. Though psychrotrophic bacteria ranged from 0 to 106, counts of catalase- negative, fecal streptococci, aerobic thermophilic spore-forming, and flat sour bacteria were low when detected. Correlations are not evident among microbial counts in wheat and flour samples.