ABSTRACT
The Falling Number (FN) method first published by Sven Hagberg in 1960, was developed technically and applied to practical use by the cereal chemist Harald Perten in 1960/ 1961. Thus the FN method has become the international standard method for the determination of sprouting and alpha-amylase activity in grain and flour. In 1961 the FN Company was established to manufacture and market equipment for carrying out the FN Test. The FN method was first introduced on a large scale in Ireland in 1961, then in Sweden in 1964. The FN method, has been introduced for wheat segregation in Australia in 1984/1985 and has been included in the New Zealand Wheat Marketing System. Since the introduction of the FN method in the 1960's it has been widely adopted in many countries round the world. In some countries the FN method may not be nationally prescribed on all wheat but rather adopted within certain areas of the grain industry.
