Terra Ingredients and Stone Mill expand production with allergen-free roasting capacities

04 Sep 2019 --- Terra Ingredients (rebranding of AgMotion), supplier of organic and non-GMO flax, beans, pulses and grains, alongside affiliate company Stone Mill has announced the addition of state-of-the-art roasting capabilities to their joint services. As a result, the companies aim to raise the traceability of their new products and solutions while lowering costs. With Stone Mill’s equipment integrated within an allergen-free facility, Terra is now offering customers a “highly customized,” roasted product.

Previously, in its roasting process, Terra had to send beans to a third-party roaster, which not only increased costs, but added an additional link to the supply chain. “Now our customers can enjoy the same farm-to-end-user traceability we've offered previously, but with custom roasting solutions as well,” says Peter Carlson, Director of Terra.

Stone Mill’s fully-automated roasting process is designed to provide continuous flow and efficiency, delivering a level of control and heat consistency. Terra and Stone Mill now specialize in maintaining a specific roast or moisture level for the product, creating specific formulation solutions to their customer's exact taste or organoleptic property requirements.

“We saw the need for this value-added step near the growing region,” Carlson notes. “We can provide a product that’s grown in the Dakotas or Montana and add value to the ingredient right at the source to increase cost efficiencies.”

Aside from cost savings, the controlled roasting process is said to offer attractive benefits for the growing market in vegetable proteins, nut-free and gluten-free products. “We work directly with customers’ R&D teams to achieve their desired taste profile. We can neutralize flavor so products can take on a nuttier flavor where it almost tastes like peanut butter. You can get a nutty flavor without having nuts,” says Daneen Dressler, Vice President of Stone Mill.

Earlier this year, Terra Ingredients announced the third-party validation of its chemical-free Microbial Reduction Process (MRP). Terra specializes in microbial reduction, with a validated 5-log kill-step on pathogens such as Listeria, Salmonella, Coliforms, and yeast and mold, to create safe, ready-to-eat ingredients. This optional process is ideal for higher risk ingredients to help companies ensure their consumers’ safety and satisfaction, notes the company.

Aside from its proprietary MRP process, the company’s product range includes top-shelf flaxseed, milled flax, fonio, chickpeas, lentils, and other pulses, grains and oilseeds. Products are pasteurized at Terra's affiliate company, Stone Mill LLC, a producer and processor of wholly-integrated, US FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)-compliant ingredients.

Edited by Benjamin Ferrer