The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Gluten-free plant is way forward
NORTH-EAST: Oat processing facility believed to be first of its kind in Scotland
A new state-of-the-art gluten-free oat processing plant has been built on a north-east farm.
The plant is located at Andrew Booth’s Savock Farms at Newburgh, near Ellon, and it has been jointly funded by Mr Booth and the Russell family at Dams of Craigie Farm, Whitecairns, near Aberdeen.
Mr Booth said the plant is believed to be the first of its kind in Scotland and one of only two dedicated gluten-free plants for oats in the UK. He said: “Our simple idea is that someone will be able to pick up a packet of oats in the supermarket, scan a QR code, and see a whole dashboard of information tracing the oats’ journey from farm to shelf.
“As farmers we want to produce a premium product that the customer wants.”
He said construction of the plant follows a project, involving four other farmers in the region, looking at the option of developing Scotland’s first gluten-free oat supply chain.
Paul Mayfield, from SAC Consulting, who facilitated the Rural Innovation Support Service-funded project, said the aim was to develop a method for providing assurances that oats had not been contaminated with gluten in the production process. Special technology, known as blockchain, was developed by Edinburgh-based technology firm Wallets Services.
It creates a digital ledger to map the oat growing and post-harvest storage processes to ensure every stage of the on-farm supply chain is gluten-free.
Mr Mayfield said: “The information within the audit trail gives full traceability and assurance, which ensures complete trust in the supply chain, as well as earning farmers associated crop premiums.”
Mr Booth said the ledger was easy to use and all farm records, from shed cleaning to crop spraying and harvesting, were stored in one place.
He said: “It has made recording simpler and provides enhanced levels of assurance with respect to food safety and provenance.”
Mr Mayfield said the venture also gave farmers a differentiator to earn a market premium. He added: “If we can do it for oats, we could ensure the same traceability for potatoes, or soft fruit, organic produce or anything we like. And it tilts some power in the supply chain back towards the producers.”
Funding for the project came from innovation, local food and supply chain support mechanisms across the Make Innovation Happen partnership including RISS, Market Driven Supply Chains, Connect Local, and the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund.