Research laboratory has its finger on pulses

DEEP inside the General Mills research lab in Golden Valley, Minnesota, food technician Faith Perry mixes up the company’s new Lärabar ALT with a special ingredient that is several thousand years old.

Tins along one wall of the lab contain every ingredient you could squeeze in a snack, from rolled oats to marshmallows. The one that provides the ALT in the bar’s name — for alternative protein — is the yellow pea powder that Perry adds to a mound of nuts, dates and brown rice syrup. It is a recipe that took two years to concoct.

“We used peas because they’re non-allergenic and have a low impact on flavour,” said Perry.

After years of peddling sugar, salt and fat, food companies are on a protein binge to capture the health-conscious consumers whose distaste for conventional packaged foods has resulted in anaemic growth for staples such as Kellogg’s cereals and Campbell’s soups.

It is part of the reordering of the world’s food supply, thanks to shifting consumer tastes, Chinese demand and global warming. There is more corn in Canada, vineyards in Scotland — and a shortage of peas in the US.

Because General Mills was early to recognise the potential of plant protein, it has stocked up and created a shortage that has left rivals rushing to catch up.

“Americans are gobbling up protein like it’s their last days,” said Kantha Shelke, principal at food science researcher Corvus Blue in Chicago.

Enter pulses, a branch of the legume family that includes dried peas, beans, chickpeas and lentils and brings a protein halo without the fat and cholesterol associated with animal products. Traditionally sold in the health-food aisle, they have found their way into pretzels, pasta and cereal.

Pulses come in a range of colours and sizes and can be eaten whole, ground into flours or separated into concentrated forms of their main components: protein, fibre and starch. They have more protein and fibre than wheat or rice and provide B vitamins, iron and zinc.

And they are better for the environment, returning nitrogen to the soil, reducing fertiliser use and requiring a fraction of the land and water of animal proteins. —