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The Definition of Sprouted Flour
Because
the word "sprouted" is not regulated by the USDA, it is
important to know that your sprouted flour is being produced
under a measured and controlled process. It is very
difficult to produce a sprouted flour that is safe, sanitary and
achieves consistent baking characteristics. After years of
research and development Essential Eating produces the highest
quality sprouted flour available.
Sprouted Whole Grain Flour
is a finely ground, powdery whole grain plant food stuff
obtained by intentionally sprouting, sound, # 1 and/or # 2 grade
quality grain that is non-sprouted, and then milled into a
finished whole grain product. The finished Sprouted Whole
Grain Flour is the result of purposefully germinating the grain
into a living plant. It is made from the entire grain,
inclusive of bran, germ, and endosperm.
This
part of the definition is key yet very difficulty to achieve:
To assure a high quality Sprouted Whole Grain Flour it must
result in a Falling Number one half of its original Falling
Number prior to sprouting. The health benefits can only be
obtained when the Falling Number has been reduced by half (plus
or minus 10%), confirming that the optimal amount of endosperm
has been transformed into a simple sugar.*
*To date, Essential
Eating is the only company producing sprouted flour using these
guidelines to assure a high quality sprouted flour.
The Evolution of Sprouted Flour
Many
indigenous
cultures knew the benefits of soaking and
sprouting dried grains for better digestion and mineral
absorption. They used techniques handed down for generations
that germinated grains to produce a more beneficial food.
Although indigenous cultures did not benefit from the scientific
knowledge we possess today, they innately understood that
sprouting grains made them easier to digest. Over time these
customs and techniques relating to sprouting grains were lost to
modern food production.
In
the absence of modern machinery prior to the 1900’s, grain was
harvested by hand and stored in the field. While stored in
the field, the grain would partially sprout as it soaked up
moisture from precipitation. Although the grain sprouted
naturally in the field, it was not able to be controlled and
would most often lose its integrity by the time it was milled.
Grain that had sprouted naturally in the field also had the
potential to mold easily and create flour that was unacceptable
in baking. Grain stored in the field was considered
damaged. It was a volatile organic commodity that
presented problems in milling because it lacked consistency and
contained unwanted bacteria and pestilent growth.
In
the early 1900’s the introduction of the combine harvester
significantly changed the milling industry and assisted in
reducing the problem of sprout damage. It allowed grain to be
harvested from the field and transported directly to storage
bins. Since the grain was no longer exposed to moisture, it was
less likely to sprout. The focus in milling shifted to
preventing sprout damage and stabilizing grain to produce flour
that was more easily manufactured and marketed, but not more
nutritious. That focus remains today.
History is being made in milling once again with the recent
introduction of the Essential Eating Sprouted Whole Grain Flours
Unlike grains that were sprouted unintentionally in the field
resulting in a low quality flour, a specific
controlled sprouting and milling technology is now being used to
produce this sprouted flour. This technology allows the sprout
to develop, then be stabilized, capturing the sprout at its
peak. The sprout is then rinsed and dried to assure integrity.
This method captures the natural wonders of the grain while
maintaining its nutrition and quality, ushering in a new
generation of healthy flours.
About Essential Eating Sprouted Foods
The mission of Essential Eating Sprouted Foods is to set the
standard for sprouted flour made in America and provide organic,
nutritional, sustainable real food products. This company is
composed of a team of dedicated workers who represent
small-scale quality food production and artisan processing.
It is our goal to keep nutrition and great taste
in flour by bringing back a delicious alternative to refined
white flour – sprouted flour.
Our integrity and reputation is based on using
the highest quality ingredients and the highest quality control
standards.
We are raising the bar on American food products. The good news
is that there is no corporate, political or academic agenda that
prevents us from telling you the truth about our foods.
10 Questions To
Ask Your Sprouted Flour Producer
It has taken Essential Eating Sprouted Foods years of research and development to create a
food safe, superior milling process that produces sprouted flour
with a higher percentage of sprout action than any other
sprouted flour or sprouted grain product in the industry with
the added benefit of producing great baking characteristics.
Ask the following questions to other sprouted flour producers
that may be making the same claims. These questions will
determine if you are buying high quality sprouted flour that is
actually sprouted. We welcome competition, but only if our
competitors are producing the same superior sprouted flour.
As of this writing, we are the only sprouted flour producer that
can legitimately answer these questions favorably.
1) Is the
mill certified organic?
Essential Eating Sprouted Flours are produced in our certified
organic mill. Being organic means that the grain used in our
sprouted flours is not irradiated or genetically modified.
2) Is the
mill rated by AIB?
American
Institute of Baking (AIB) is recognized countrywide as the most
stringent food safety auditor of the flour industry. Essential
Eating Sprouted Foods certified organic flour mill carries a
Superior rating from AIB. Of the 96 flour mills in America,
less than ten have achieved the rating of Superior from AIB. To
achieve this rating, the mill has to meet all the AIB standards
for quality, safety and sanitation.
3) What
quality of grain is used?
Essential
Eating Sprouted Foods uses only Grade A grains.
4) Is the
grain tested for a deadly mold called Vomitoxin commonly found
in grain?
Prior to
receiving, all grain is tested for deadly mold and fungus and if
even a trace is present the grain is rejected.
5) Is the
grain cleaned?
Prior to the sprouting process, all grains used in Essential
Eating Sprouted Foods organic flours are cleaned.
6) Is the
grain organically and systematically rinsed during the sprouting
process?
The sprouting process used to produce Essential Eating Sprouted
Flours involves a systematic organic rinsing system to assure
that the enzymatic (bacterial) growth is well within the USDA
food safety guidelines.
7) Is the
flour sifted to remove foreign matter found in all grain?
The Essential Eating Sprouted Flours are sifted to remove any
foreign matter found in all grain. As another safety measure,
the finished product also passes through a metal detector.
8) Is the
Falling Number Test used to assure grain is sprouted and not
drowned?
The Falling
Number Test, an internationally standardized method, measures
the alpha-amylase enzyme
activity in flour to determine how much sprout a grain
has achieved and to assure the grain has not been drowned.
While a lower falling number indicates high enzyme (sprouting)
activity, it is very important to compare the falling number
prior to sprouting with the falling number after
sprouting to accurately measure how much sprout action has
occurred. A grain that started with a falling number of 350 and
is now 150 has sprouted more completely than a grain that
started at 250 and is now 150. To assure that Essential Eating
Sprouted Flours contain the highest sprout action, our sprouted
flours must always have a final falling number equal to or
lower than half of the falling number prior to sprouting.
High quality grain that has been sprouted and stabilized
resulting in a low falling number is very difficult to achieve
so beware of anyone making claims without documentation. Every
shipment of Essential Eating Sprouted Flours contains this
information.
9) How is
the sprouted flour milled?
Essential
Eating Sprouted Flours are purposely not stone-ground for
important reasons of quality. The term “stone ground” (grinding
grain into flour with stone) is not regulated by the FDA and
therefore is used on food packaging and as a marketing tool
without scrutiny. Similar to the terms natural and homemade,
stone ground has no federal requirements and is considered
puffery on many food labels.
More
importantly, in the stone ground process the surface of the
stones get ground down in the milling process, and this ground
stone goes directly into the flour. During the stone ground
milling process the miller must pay close attention that the
stones do not become overheated, scorching the flour.
Stone ground
flour is not the most efficient, unprocessed, low-temperature or
food safe way to mill flour. Our flours are milled using a
modern, lower temperature milling system in order to produce a
superior quality, less processed, safe, nutritious flour.
10) Does the
milling method produce great baking characteristics?
In
conventional milling, stone ground included, heat and shearing
can tear apart the grain and destroy the essence of the kernel,
called starch damage. We find that starch damage from milling
creates flour with baking characteristics that produces dense
baked goods. If the sprouted flour that you are using produces
dense baked goods, it most likely is due to the way the flour
has been milled. The Essential Eating Sprouted Foods milling
process is a more gentle method that keeps the integrity of the
grain intact and produces better baking characteristics.
The Beauty of Sprouted Flour
Sprouting a grain actually changes its composition from a starch
to a vegetable. How cool is that?
When whole grains are sprouted, they are
converted into a living food so that more vital nutrients are
able to be absorbed by the body.
The sprouting process is quite simple, yet the
outcome is very exciting. As the grain sprouts, it turns into a
plant, and the body recognizes it as a vegetable. Vegetables are
the easiest-to-digest foods because they are broken down by
vegetable enzymes, not pancreatic enzymes which are less
abundant in most people’s digestive systems. The sprouting
conversion happens when the sprout pierces the shell of the
grain. Once this process is complete, the body can digest the
sprouted grains as a vegetable. Picture a grass seed that has
begun to sprout into grass coming alive as a vegetable. The
sprouted grass seed is then dried and milled into flour.
Years ago, the health of our founder, Janie
Quinn, was restored by replacing refined white flour with
sprouted whole grain flour in her diet. Since then, she has been
the nation’s leading advocate for getting more sprouted flour
and sprouted grain flour products into our culture.
The benefits or Essential Eating Sprouted Flours:
• Wholesome organic, kosher ingredient
• Sprouting increases the protein content of grain
• Complex sugars are broken down, which can eliminate
indigestion
sometimes caused by consuming
unsprouted grains
• Sprouting produces Vitamin C, increases Vitamins B,
E, K, carotene,
pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, niacin,
biotin, and riboflavin and helps
with absorption of calcium,
magnesium, iron, copper and zinc
• Potent carcinogens and enzyme inhibitors are
neuturalized
• 100% whole grain is higher in dietary fiber
• Enhanced flavor component
• Sprouting significantly extends the shelf life of
flour
Sources: Potential For The Use Of Germinated Wheat and Soybeans
To Enhance Human Nutrition P.L. Finney, USDA-ARS Washington
State University, Plenum Press 1979.
Effects of Germination on Cereal and Legume Nutrient Changes and
Food or Feed Value: A Comprehensive Review, Plenum Press, 1982.
Recent studies show that refined white flour is
devoid of many nutrients and fiber necessary for a healthy diet.
Today, emerging science is illustrating the benefits of whole
grains in combating heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Quite
possibly,
sprouted whole grains may play a part in prevention of
these serious dis-eases. Imagine eating your favorite
baked goods such as pancakes, cookies or breads made with flour
that digests as a vegetable!
How Does Sprouted Flour Taste?
It tastes
better than any flour you have ever tasted. One of our customers
and a career baker stated, “Sprouted flour makes the most
wonderful bread known to humankind!” Sprouted flour is
more delicious than regular flour because it has not been
bleached, refined or over processed. Sprouting removes the
bitter taste found in unsprouted whole grain flour. You’ll love
the flavor.
Our Milling Process
It has taken years of research to develop a food safe, superior
milling process that produces the finest sprouted flour
available. The Falling Number Test is used to assure the grains
have sprouted and have not drown. Only Grade A grains are
used. They are cleaned, sprouted, organically rinsed and
gently dried to stop the enzymatic action at the grains
nutritional peak before they are milled and sifted.
Being organic, our sprouted whole grain flour it
is not genetically engineered or irradiated.
Our certified organic flour mill carries a
Superior rating from the American Institute of Baking (AIB),
recognized nationwide as the most stringent food safety auditor
of the flour industry. Of the 96 flour mills in America, there
are only a few that have achieved the rating of Superior from
AIB.
For thousands of years milling was based on
stone-grinding grain into flour. As modern technology replaced
stone ground mills, the term “stone ground”, as related to
flour, is sometimes used as a marketing tool. The term stone
ground is not regulated by the FDA and therefore is used without
scrutiny. Similar to the terms natural, homemade and healthy,
stone ground has no federal requirements and is considered
puffery on many food labels.
In
conventional milling, stone ground included, heat and shearing
can tear apart the grain and destroy the essence of the kernel,
called starch damage. We find that starch damage from milling
creates flour with baking characteristics that produces dense
baked goods. If the sprouted flour that you are using produces
dense baked goods, it most likely is due to the way the flour
has been milled. The Essential Eating Sprouted Foods milling
process is a more gentle method that keeps the integrity of the
grain intact and produces better baking characteristics.
Our sprouted flours are purposely not stone
ground. Consider that in the ancient technique of
grinding flour with stones, called stone grinding, the surface
of the stones get ground down in the milling process, and this
ground stone goes directly into the flour. During the stone
ground milling process the miller must pay close attention that
the stones do not become overheated, scorching the flour. Stone
ground flour is not the most efficient, unprocessed,
low-temperature or food safe way to mill flour. In conventional
milling, heat and shearing can tear apart the grain and destroy
the essence of the kernel, called starch damage. Our milling
process is more gentle and keeps the integrity of the grain
intact. The certified organic Essential Eating Sprouted Flours
are milled using a modern, lower temperature milling system in
order to produce a superior quality, less processed, safe,
nutritious flour.
Carbohydrates and Starches
Starches, such as unsprouted grains, are foods that need
pancreatic enzymes to properly digest. The confusion comes
because carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables and
starches. A vegetable can be a starchy vegetable, such as a
potato, but it still digests as a vegetable in the body and does
not use pancreatic enzymes to digest. The Essential
Eating Digestible Diet is a starch-free diet as it suggests
eating grains (starches) that have been sprouted into
vegetables. According to the way they digest, unsprouted grains
are considered starches, and sprouted grains are considered a
plant or a vegetable and therefore digest as vegetables do in
the body.
Carbohydrates found in fruits, vegetables and
sprouted grains are better for you and easier to digest than
carbohydrates found in starches such as wheat and other
grains. Starches or whole grains are virtually impossible for
the human body to breakdown and digest properly. The main reason
they are hard to digest is that in their dried state they
contain enzyme inhibitors that prevent ease of digestion in the
body Consider that the destiny of a grain is to reproduce
or to sprout, something it cannot do in the digestive
tract. Those with starch intolerances can usually digest
sprouted grains as they have converted from a starch into a
vegetable or simple sugar.
Sprouted Flour and Gluten
Gluten is the
protein of grain. All grains have a percentage of gluten because
all grains have protein. When grains are sprouted the gluten
index drops and may be easier for the body to digest as they are
converted into a plant, and are no longer a starch.
Although many people have been diagnosed with
gluten sensitivities, gluten intolerances or celiac dis-ease,
many diagnosed with gluten problems are more likely to be
sensitive or intolerant to starch. In general, they both exhibit
the same symptoms of dis-ease. Most people find gluten
easy to digest, but when a body cannot properly digest gluten,
serious health issues can result. For those who are truly gluten
intolerant, any amounts of foods containing gluten, including
sprouted flour may still create a problem. Many of our students
had been diagnosed with starch sensitivities. After embracing
the
Essential Eating path and spending some time cleansing their
system from a starch-based diet, they were able to digest,
without difficulty, sprouted flour products. Why? Sprouted
flours digest as vegetables, using vegetable enzymes, not
pancreatic enzymes which are less abundant in most bodies.
Because of
the escalation of wheat-intolerant and gluten sensitive people
in our culture, more and more wheat-free and gluten-free
products are being marketed. In particular, products
containing spelt are becoming popular. Spelt is a member
of the same grain family as oats and wheat, but is a markedly
different species.The popularity of spelt at the beginning of
the century was replaced by modern wheat which was more suitable
to high volume food production.
Many individuals with wheat and gluten
sensitivities are able to consume sprouted spelt flour. The
protein in spelt contains a unique grouping of amino acids and
less gluten than all other wheat varieties. Spelt, nutty and
mild in flavor, has a tough outer hull that allows it to grow
into a more delicate water-soluble kernel. This added benefit
allows the nutrients to be more easily absorbed by the body
during digestion.
As with other grains, for the spelt grain to be more easily
digested, it needs to be sprouted.
Enzymatic Action of Sprouted Grain:
Turning Complex Carbohydrates into Simple Sugars
A kernel of grain given the right conditions of
moisture content and proper sprouting temperature gets ready to
germinate. The germ cell of the grain which contains fat and
protein creates enzymes and secretes them into the carbohydrate
cell of the grain so the germ can eat the complex carbohydrates
as a simple sugar. This enzymatic action turns the grain
or complex carbohydrate into a more digestible edible food―a
simple sugar. Now that the grain is a simple sugar it is
considered a vegetable as simple sugars are vegetables. The
simple sugars created in this process produce the energy that
enables the sprout to grow.
Our
proprietary sprouting process induces sprouting and then stops
the enzymatic action when the complex carbohydrates have turned
into simple sugars preserving the sprouted whole grain berry and
keeping its baking integrity intact. The sprouted berry is then
dried, milled and sifted into sprouted whole grain flour.
A
simple sugar is not table sugar which is a complex
carbohydrate. The body recognizes and metabolizes simple sugars,
like vegetables, easily and does not need pancreatic enzymes to
digest them. On the other hand, when the body eats complex
carbohydrates, even whole grains unsprouted, the pancreas must
produce a fluid called pancreatin that contains many enzymes to
break them down into simple sugars for the body to digest.These
enzymes include amylase to digest carbohydrates, lipase to
digest fats, and protease to digest protein. Most bodies do not
have an abundance of these pancreatic enzymes and the pancreas
may become exhausted and unable to properly digest and
metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins which can cause many
digestive disorders and related dis-eases. How amazing it is
that the sprouting process uses a similar process to turn a
grain into simple sugars, just like the human body does. That is
why the enzymatic action of sprouted flour is so important in
making it more easily digested than unsprouted flour.
Although the enzymes created to grow the sprout are cooked off
during baking, the non-heat sensitive vitamins, minerals,
protein (amino acids) and pre and probiotics are still intact
and available for the body to absorb.
Baking With Sprouted Flours
Sprouted flour is suitable for all your baking needs and can be
substituted one for one for all-purpose white flour in most
recipes. See Essential Eating, A Cookbook or Essential Eating
The Digestible Diet for recipes.
We offer wheat and spelt sprouted flours. Wheat
is higher in gluten therefore preferred for bread or yeast
baking over spelt. Spelt may be used in yeast baking, but it
might not have as high a rise. When using spelt to make yeast
bread, shorten the kneading or mixing time to no longer than 15
minutes. As gluten adds structure to bread and as spelt is low
in gluten, normal kneading times may weaken the dough when using
sprouted spelt flour. This may result in the bread not rising or
collapsing as it rises. Spelt also has less bran than
wheat. Bran and gluten absorb the most liquid of all the parts
of the grain. So when using sprouted spelt flour, add slightly
less liquid in your recipe.
Baking with Essential Eating Sprouted Flours
Essential
Eating Sprouted Flours perform well in both household and
industrial food applications. You can use Essential Eating
Sprouted Flours the same as you would other flours in your
recipes including baked goods, pasta and pizza crusts!
Sprouted Flour versus Sprouted Grain
Bread products
that are called flourless or manna
are made from a mash. Mash is made from wet sprouts
that are made directly into dough and are not dehydrated or
sifted – called wet-milling. Sprouted products made from a
mash are coarser in texture and can have a distinctive fermented
taste. Because of the fact that these wet-milled sprouted
products are milled with sprouts that skip the drying and
sifting process of dry milling, there is a potential for
“foreign” matter to remain in the mash. Essential Eating
Sprouted Products are not made from a mash, they are
rinsed, dried, sifted and milled into flour.
When soaking grains there is a tendency to over
soak them which produces what appears to be a sprout, but is
actually the endosperm swelling through the bran coat from
drowning the grain – not a sprout. Our sprouting process assures
the grain is sprouted, not drowned.
Ancient cultures soaked grains
prior to consumption. Science tells us that soaking grain
neutralizes the phytic acid on the bran coat that acts as an
enzyme inhibitor in the human body. Although soaking is
beneficial to the digestion of grains it does not provide the
benefits of consuming sprouted grain that has actually converted
from a starch into a plant. Properly sprouted grains combine
the digestibility of vegetables, while being certified as whole
grains by
USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) which in January
2008, ruled that sprouted grains may be labeled on food
packaging as whole grains. Truly, they are the best of both
worlds.
Over the years, bits
and pieces have been published about sprouted, germinated,
malted and fermented grains, mostly as a result of studies
conducted by the agriculture research community for cereal
grains. Most of these reports are regarding “malted” feed for
animals. The length of time these studies soak, germinate,
sprout or ferment grain varies greatly. There is no consensus
about the length of time this process takes and it varies
greatly from hours to days. The reported results state various
conclusions, but most are not about a product that would
actually be turned into a food product that would be consumed by
humans.
None of these
studies use the internationally standardized method, the Falling
Number Test, to measure the
alpha-amylase enzyme activity in flour to detect if a
grain has actually sprouted and not drowned. The Falling Number
Test cannot be conducted on a sprouted grain berry; the grains
must be in the form of flour.
The words
“sprouted”, “malted” and “germinated” are not regulated on food
packaging. Food manufacturers are using these words without a
clear definition or without specifically stating what they are
actually doing to alter the grain and what chemicals are used in
the process, if any.
Essential Eating
Sprouted Foods has developed a measured and controlled process
to clean, sprout, dry, sift and mill whole grains to
consistently produce sprouted flour with the highest percentage
of sprout action in the industry while maintaining great baking
characteristics. Each batch uses the Falling Number Test and
adheres to the sprouted whole grain flour definition developed
to inspire an industry standard. The Falling Number of sprouted
flour is only relevant when compared to the Falling Number of
the whole grain prior to sprouting.
Currently, no other
food producer adheres to any definition of sprouted flour nor do
any companies test for this level of safety, quality and sprout
action in a sprouted food product. We would welcome more
producers of sprouted flour on the condition they meet the same
high level of standards and procedures used to produce the
Essential Eating Sprouted Flours.
Fiber in Sprouted Whole Grain Flour
Today, conventional wisdom recommends eating whole grain flour
because it contains more fiber than refined white flour, but it
can not be compared to the nutrient content and digestive
benefits of sprouted whole grain flour. Our
sprouted flour is milled using the whole grain so it contains
the same amount of fiber as unsprouted whole grain flour but
without the bitter taste.
Shelf-life, Freshness and Storage
The phrase "freshly milled" flour is rooted in the fact that
unsprouted grain flour begins to go rancid when milled. It is
recommended that unsprouted grains be freshly milled and
unsprouted flour be refrigerated until consumed. The germ cell
of the grain on unsprouted flour is the part that becomes
rancid.
During the sprouting process, the germ cell is consumed by the
endosperm and is no longer in a state that can become rancid.
When grain is sprouted, dried and milled under measured
conditions, it becomes a stable food ingredient, allowing it to
maintain its freshness and shelf life much longer than
unsprouted flour.
Keep Essential Eating sprouted flours in a dry condition and
they will stay fresh for at least 6 months if not longer.
Do not store flour near foods and products with strong odors.
Refrigeration or freezing of sprouted flour is
not necessary if consumed within 6 months. Freezing may
extend the shelf-life past 6 months. If frozen, return the
flour to room temperature before using.
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Testimonials
“I only eat breads and baked goods that are
made with sprouted flour. After eliminating white and
whole grain flour from my diet, I became more regular and began
losing weight effortlessly.”
- C. Ballard
“Sprouted flour
breads
fill me up, and taste YUMMY!"
- P. Davidson
“I have been eating sprouted flour breads
for more than two years and won't go back to bread made with
white flour. Sprouted flour products taste so much better than
white flour and it is better for me and I feel better.
- M. Conklin
“Who wouldn’t love baked goods made with
sprouted flour? I can tell a big difference in my
digestion when I use sprouted flour versus the nutrient-devoid
white stuff.”
- M. Yardley
“Sprouted bread is so healthy: more
nutrition, more fiber, more flavor!” -
K. Elderman
It is hard to find a treat that isn't full of bad
stuff like bleached flour, processed sugar, and fat.
Thanks to the recipes from Essential Eating, I can enjoy healthy
cookies, pastries, and my own biscotti's made with sprouted
flour without feeling I have started the day on the
wrong foot. I believe that sets me up for a day of healthy
eating." -
C. Burns
“I have been eating sprouted bread for
quite a few years now but my family has not yet
converted. I recently ran out of white bleached processed
bread and substituted the sprouted bread in my son's lunch.
He now requests sprouted bread for all of his sandwiches...You
know the old saying: "Try it you'll like it!"
- S. Peron
“You don't get constipated from sprouted
breads and flours!!!”
- J. Kalin
“My children just love the spouted
waffles! They thought I was baking cookies but it
was the waffle iron! I make them in a big batch and freeze them
so they can have sprouted waffles before school!”
- C. Massaro
“I believe sprouted flour is truly the way
flour was intended to taste - flavorful, wholesome, delicious
and nurturing!
- M. Jeffrey
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