Flour power with winter wheat

The federal government is partnering with industry to fund a four-year research project geared at finding ways to optimize Ontario’s winter wheat.

The groups are investing $844,000 into an initiative led by the Ontario Cereal Industry Research Council (OCIRC) to study protein quality in the province’s winter wheat as it relates to nutrition and final product quality.

“Historically we’ve had a good understanding of western Canada’s spring wheat but the eastern wheat variety is very different and is aimed at different products,” said Dr. Jayne Bock, OCIRC’s principal investigator on the project.

Working with a wheat geneticist, she will be looking at things like the implication of freezing on protein structure (for par-baked breads shipped to retailers for baking) as well as the chlorination process in making cake flour.

“If we had a better understanding of what chlorination does for wheat protein for example, we could identify alternative methods that could be more environmentally friendly.”

Given that Ontario grows 73% of Canada’s winter wheat at a market value of more than $500 million, the federal government is hoping the research will increase its value even further and expand market opportunities for Canadian producers.

“The wheat crop is in high demand and consumers are now seeking certain characteristics from their products, be that more fibre or lower-cost flour options for making cakes,” said parliamentary secretary Pierre Lemieux. “We’re investing along with industry so that our food processing sector can be more cost competitive. It’s good for the farmer and the industry benefits because the cost drops.”

Prior to the launch of the project, Dr. Bock talked to cereal makers across the country to create a strategic plan. “I worked extensively with them to develop a project that would find something mutually beneficial,” she said.

If research goals come to fruition, retailers should expect to see a roster of new winter wheat-based products, as well as existing brands tweaked to be more nutritionally appealing to consumers.