“Bred to optimize”: Corteva Agriscience debuts high-fiber durum wheat

06 Aug 2024 --- Corteva Agriscience has announced a high-fiber durum wheat, Trusource, to meet consumer needs for increased dietary fiber through use in high-volume foods such as pasta and baked goods. Trusource is a non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) wheat that can deliver up to four times more fiber than traditional wheat flour at “no operational challenges” to manufacturers.

Food Ingredients First sits down with Tyler Groeneveld, North American director for Value-Added Ingredients at Corteva Agriscience, to understand the benefits of Trusource wheat for growers, manufacturers and consumers and its commercialization plans.

According to the USDA, low intake of dietary fiber is a public health concern across the US. For Corteva, primary agriculture poses a “wonderful opportunity” to address the challenges of the F&B industry and consumers.

“We look for opportunities in our strategic crops of corn, soybeans, canola, wheat and sunflowers, for what we can do through modern plant breeding to solve some of the largest, most important needs in food and nutrition.”

Potential health benefits
Corteva expands its value-added ingredients portfolio with the introduction of this high-fiber durum wheat. Trusource is derived from the company’s seeds, and Groeneveld says it offers various health benefits “without compromising taste or texture,” differentiating it from other products.

The ingredient is “a high amylose starch with low digestibility and provides nutritional benefits that consumers want.” It also “helps support blood sugar management, gut health and promote satiety along with a reduced inflammatory response.”

“It has all the taste and mouthfeel that consumers are looking for without anything unappealing.”

While other products such as whole-wheat or other novel varieties of pasta or even fiber-fortified products may not deliver on taste and texture, Trusource wants to overcome these attributes “without the consumer having to sacrifice anything,” he adds.

Traditional breeding
Corteva has used traditional plant breeding techniques to mimic the sensory experience of conventional pasta and baked foods.

According to Groeneveld, manufacturers will be able to use Trusource to create a higher fiber product without any operational challenges.“We have been working on it for several years — it was bred to optimize the fiber in the wheat. It will be the same as any other durum wheat for the farmer that will grow the crop. For the processor, it has all the same milling attributes. And for the pasta manufacturer, it will be a drop-in solution,” says Groeneveld.

“We anticipate that manufacturers will be able to use it to help create a higher fiber product without having any operational challenges to overcome.”

Costs and sustainability
While the cost of the wheat has not yet been determined, pasta makers could “reduce production cost and improve their margins” on pasta and semolina-based foods with Trusource. 

For the farmer, Groeneveld expects the cost to be the same as any other wheat they might grow. Moreover, he notes that the ingredient will allow businesses to have a “much cleaner” label as it doesn’t require additives and is potentially a single ingredient — “and nothing else” — that can deliver a significantly greater nutritional footprint.

Corteva grows its value-added ingredients crops under an identity preservation system, which enhances sustainability and traceability. These products include the omega-9 canola oil, Plenish high oleic soybean oil and now, Trusource wheat.

“The producer, right through to the miller, can make certain that the wheat is separated and segregated from anything else. That gives it the highest quality. Our partners, who will contract and [develop] the crop with the growers, will know every single grower who will be growing the wheat.”

“There is a significant opportunity to provide consumers and even food manufacturers with more transparency and traceability in terms of where the crop is grown because we know the individual growers that will be growing the crop in Western Canada.”

Commercialization plans
Trusource wheat will be available to food businesses to trial in product development and evaluation later this year. Corteva plans to commercialize it for North American farmers in the coming years.

Corteva plans to commercialize Trusource for North American farmers in the coming years.“From early 2025, we’ll be able to provide the food industry with sample semolina and pasta from Trusource wheat from the crop that is being grown in our research and breeding program.”

“But further commercialization plans in terms of having a significant acreage planted across western Canada are under development, and we will be working to aggressively increase the supply and introduce it to the farming community in the next couple of years.”

Since Corteva has collaborated with farmers for decades to produce high-stability crops such as canola, the company wants to ensure that growers emerge profitable in their operations. 

“That’s one metric of success. We want them to be able to grow it and maximize their on-farm revenue because farmers’ success helps everyone down the food ecosystem be successful.”

For Groeneveld, Trusouce’s success would also reflect in more pasta products on the shelves, where consumers would significantly elevate their nutritional intake in the food they enjoy eating, which will also drive Corteva’s future innovation.

By Anvisha Manral