Special Report: Pulses Thrive on Health and Multiple Application Potential

29 May 2017 --- Packed with nutritional goodness, the health credentials of pulses is driving their use in new product developments around the world. Although consumption differs from country to country, the benefits of pulses - which includes contributing to the prevention of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and to help lower cholesterol and control weight - are universally pushing pulses’ demand.

Off the back of 2016 being the official “Year of Pulses”, 2017 sees a continuing trend to position pulses as a primary source of protein and other essential nutrients. Alternative protein trend alongside clean eating is inspiring plant-based foods with inherent health potential. Pulses are benefiting from all these trends and from being in the global spotlight last year. 
 
Pulses can be incorporated into so many different food products - and the snack industry is seeing a huge boom in their use. Lentils, chickpeas, beans and other dried legumes are much more widespread in the shopping aisles and as a food ingredient in NPDs as more and more food innovators and big name brands get into the space. 
 
Product Development Across Several Segments 
 
Energy Bars
For instance in the energy bar segment, Megabite launched a bar featuring seven pulse ingredients that was created by Pulse Canada in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc. It’s aim is to raise awareness among food professionals to the innovative possibilities pulses offer. 
 
Biscuits
In the sweet snacking/bakery goods space, Pulsetta uses milled peas and lentils rather than traditional flour to boost the nutritional profile of its products available in the UK, Germany, Austria, Romania and Thailand, as well as online. Its range of thin biscuits feature a “with pulses” label alongside a variety of free-from claims that push up sales to health conscious consumers. 
 
Chips 
RW Garcia in the US has launched a range of pulse chips “combining delicious pulse crops with Non-GMO corn to make a delicious and unique snack”. Its new pulse tortilla chip line includes Black Bean & Garlic, Lentil & Turmeric, and Hummus & Red Bell Pepper. By using pulses as one of the main ingredients, the promotion centers on the “clean ingredients” of a “sustainable” chip which is also “delicious”. It ticks a lot of boxes. 
 
Children’s Snacks
Then onto children’s snacks. The UK-based Kids Food Company is an innovative, privately-owned children’s food company that creates exciting products under the Kiddylicious brand. Its range includes Ha-Pea Snaps, made with 90% whole green British Peas offering a solid source of protein. Also directly marketed towards children and parents, are the Kiddylicious Quinoa Crisps and Lentil Crisps which use an animated superhero on the packaging to engage kids. 
 
Tailor-Making Textures Using Natural Pulses
One company with a deep understanding of tailor making textures using natural grains and pulses for the health and traditional food markets is Unicorn Grain Specialities B.V. The company is currently witnessing an increase in demand for protein-enriched food, particularly in the snacking sector and its portfolio of products within the BiTex product line are based on protein rich pulses. In the pipeline is a wide program of heat treated pulse flour and later this year, the company plans to launch BiTex Nuprotein. 
 
Protein enrichment has so much potential for growth, according to Unicorn’s commercial director René Coenen. 
 
“Protein enrichment is an area where we see great potential. People in the market tend to start buying products with at least 20 per cent protein inside. We are always looking into different kinds of pulses because it is known that they have higher protein content and if we can give them a heat treatment, then it can be used in any kind of application,” he tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 
 
Research into Pulses
 
The UK’s largest bakery brand, Warburtons, joined forces with Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI) late last year on a project that could revolutionize the use of pulse flours in the food industry. The major pulse research initiative aims to produce healthier baked products and advance the use of pulses such as yellow peas, red and green lentils, chickpeas and navy beans.

The research will see breads, rolls, crumpets, sandwich thins and tortillas made with specific nutritional values and using flours milled from different pulse types. 
 
Using a newly installed pilot-scale fermentation tank at CIGI, a series of preferment trials are ongoing, using flours milled from different pulse types, pulse blends, particle sizes and inclusion levels will be undertaken to determine their effect on ferment dough properties, finished bread quality and FODMAP (a group of small carbohydrate sugar molecules found in everyday foods that may be poorly absorbed in the small intestine of some people). 

There will also be trials to see if bread with a clean label - which means the elimination of dough conditioners and other processing aids) can be produced using pre-ferment technology and pulse flour. 
 
The project is running until March 2019. 
 
“Warburtons is proud to be partnering with CIGI on this exciting project to advance the use of pulses in the food industry,” says Adam Dyck, Warburtons Canadian Program Manager. “This new research underlines the increasing popularity of new and innovative bakery products amongst consumers and is testament to Warburtons’ commitment to future growth through diversification and innovation.” 

“We are pleased to fund this project,” echoes Carl Potts, Executive Director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. “Inclusion of pulse ingredients into baked foods helps address consumer interest in choosing nutritional ingredients in the foods they eat. This project also addresses market diversification which is an important focus for SPG, and Saskatchewan pulse growers are well-suited to meet the demand for improved nutrition in the food industry.” 

“By working with Warburtons as a commercial partner on this project, there is a direct link to an end-customer,” adds JoAnne Buth, Cigi CEO. “It signifies the potential of pulses to the food industry as ingredients with nutritional benefits that can contribute to improved health and well-being of consumers.”

Wageningen University & Research
Wageningen UR conducts research into the cultivation of leguminous crops, both in the Netherlands and abroad. It says leguminous crops such as beans, peanuts and soya not only provide nutritious food, but they also fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the aid of Rhizobium bacteria which improves the fertility of the soil. Legumes are very nutritious and are an increasingly popular meat replacement. 
 
Wageningen University & Research is working together with international research and development organizations to improve nitrogen fixation in African agriculture as part of the project N2Africa. This project started in 2009 and was initially financed by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
 
One of the initiatives involves developing educational materials on topics such as pulses as fertilizers, bean processing techniques and the nutritional value of pulses. Educating women in Ghana has resulted in higher yields and a more nutritious diet for their families and in the Nigerian state of Borno, educational initiatives have helped to improve the use of soya beans. 

by Gaynor Selby