TORONTO – The recent proliferation of gluten-free food is causing consumers to rethink the wheat products they routinely buy, says a food trends expert.
Isabelle Marquis, XTC World Innovation director for North America, said misinformation and confusion about the gluten-free label is likely behind a backlash against cereal grains.
“Many feel it’s something they shouldn’t eat,” said Marquis, who spoke at Sial Canada’s international agri-food convention in Toronto May 11.
The trend should be monitored carefully because of an increase in digestive disorders and allergies, she added.
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“It’s just at the top of the iceberg.”
For food processors, Marquis said it means paying attention to ingredients and providing clear labelling.
Sial food exhibitor Caryll Carruthers of Legal, Alta., said catering to people with special needs is a growing market for prairie processors and producers.
“There has to be good products on the market for them,” she said, citing her company’s future plans to use pea flour to produce gluten-free mixes for cupcakes, pancakes and breakfast cereals.
Carruthers already offers NoNuts pea butter, a prairie-based alternative for those with peanut allergies, which she produces at Mountain Meadows Food Processing in Legal, Alta.
She uses canola oil and peas to produce a nutty spread similar in taste to peanut butter but without the health risks.
Exhibitor Dennis Barker said consumers want better food than they find at the grocery store.
Barker, who works with certified organic producer Eric Leicht of Naturally Nutritious Foods at Spalding, Sask., to produce germinated seeds and grains, questioned how cereal grains are bred.
“Before we make changes to anything we consume, the first question we should ask is, is it going to make it more nutritious, digestible or better for me as a consumer,” said Barker, interviewed at his company’s booth alongside a host of prairie products from garlic to quinoa to camelina.
He said plant breeding focuses on producing a crop that can tolerate more inputs and grow more efficiently and economically.
Barker said the focus needs to shift to health.
“Eat like your life depends on it, because it does,” he said.
Barker praised the high quality and nutrition in Canadian grown crops such as lentils. He said Canadian lentils are grown mainly for export, while lentils found on local store shelves are largely from other countries.
“In our own backyard, we have the best of the best,” Barker said, citing lentils’ high protein and fibre content.
