Researchers have confirmed Canadian peas are high in selenium, a trace element that disrupted sales to Canada’s fourth largest pulse customer last year.
Analysis of 150 samples collected across Western Canada in 2004 and 2005 shows anywhere from 0.1 to 0.8 parts per million selenium.
China’s tolerance level is 0.3 ppm, leading a Canadian Grain Commission researcher to conclude that’s why the importer rejected some cargos of peas in 2006.
“If (the peas) were shipped from one region that is high in selenium uptake, it could exceed that 0.3 ppm limit,” said CGC program manager Eugene Gawalko.
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Sales to China temporarily ground to a halt last summer when grain inspectors began enforcing a seldom used maximum residue limit.
Trade resumed in the fall when the vermicelli noodle lobby in Shandong province convinced government regulators to allow them to use Canadian peas since no selenium was contained in the starch compound they used to make their noodles.
Feed peas have also been exempted from selenium testing. But the new measures are still disrupting food pea shipments to other provinces and for other uses, such as the snack industry.
Despite the trade disruption, Canadian pulse exporters sent a record $59 million worth of product to China in 2006 due to stellar sales in the early season.
Jackie Blondeau, director of market development with Pulse Canada, said the purpose of the CGC study is to prevent any further market access issues in China or other importing nations.
“The main initial goal of it is to really be proactive and get a better understanding of what our risks might be,” she said.
The agency wants to build a database of contaminant levels in peas, which is why, in addition to selenium, researchers are looking at other trace elements including lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, chromium and nickel.
So far all of the other elements were well within international standards. Cadmium levels were 10 times lower than the standard established by Codex Alimentarius. The CGC’s sophisticated measuring tools were barely able to detect other toxic elements.
The CGC is passing its test results along to the Geological Survey of Canada so it can produce maps showing the western Canadian hot spots for selenium uptake in peas.
Gawalko suggested the maps could be used to reduce pea plantings in areas of the Prairies where the soil contains high levels of the element, but Blondeau isn’t sure how Pulse Canada will use the data.
“Our recent experience has been fairly negative with the Chinese issue, but selenium is also a market opportunity. There are a lot of places in the world that are deficient in selenium and actually value crops that are high in selenium,” she said.
Test results are also being sent to breeders at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre.
“If varieties can be developed, which would not accumulate selenium or (accumulate it) at reduced levels, this wouldn’t be an issue,” said Gawalko.
Blondeau said it will be helpful now that Pulse Canada has data to respond to any similar trade issues that may arise.
