The $6.3 million project looks at tempered pulse flours
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A new project aimed at developing applications for pulse flours may soon give producers in Western Canada another market for their crops.
The project partners, Protein Industries Canada (PIC), Avena Foods, Big Mountain Foods, Daiya Foods, Bakenology and The Village Bakery announced a $6.3 million project Dec. 8.
The project is “aimed at utilizing proprietary technology that Avena Foods has developed, where they develop tempered pulse flours from a number of different input crops,” said Bill Greuel, president of PIC.
Daiya Foods and Big Mountain Foods from Canada and Bakenology and The Village Bakery, based out of the United Kingdom, can then use this tempered pulse flour in its food manufacturing.
“Support from PIC is critical in transitioning Avena’s tempered flours from promising food ingredients to an innovative suite of clean-label, nutritious and functional ingredients for food manufacturers. This project will open up a new, important market for farmers and provide significant benefits to consumers,” said Gord Flaten, Avena Foods CEO, in the release.
This partnership also helps diversify the markets available to producers in Western Canada and avoid issues with exporting whole seeds to other countries, said Greuel.
Packaged goods are “harder for national governments to impose trade barriers on than it is for straight up commodities. I think this whole idea of market diversification and insulating us against trade disruptions is really critical for producers,” he told Farms.com.
Photo credit: Protein Industries Canada photo