High quality, gluten-free products are on the menu for researchers at Canada’s food university who are working to advance this country’s gluten-free food industry.
Dr. Sanaa Ragaee, adjunct professor and cereal program manager in the Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, says many gluten-free products in North America lack protein, fibre and micronutrients.
“These gluten-free products are not nutritious enough for the people who depend on them,” she says.
Gluten in wheat flour allows dough to be baked into what Ragaee calls “fluffy, yummy products.” Gluten is the main structure-forming component in wheat flours. It’s responsible for the formation of cohesive elastic dough that holds carbon dioxide produced by fermentation, allowing baked products to rise and maintain its structure.
The biggest gluten-free issue for consumers is the products’ low nutrient content and high levels of starch. Another downside to current gluten-free producers is their often short shelf-life. Many gluten-free foods in a grocery store are found in the freezer, due in part to their fragility and tendency to crumble.
The absence of gluten often results in a liquid batter rather than dough, which produces poor quality baked products, especially breads. This mediocre consistency is why gluten-free products are often found in the freezer isle—freezing helps to maintain their freshness.
Further, the production of gluten-free pasta is also difficult, as gluten contributes to the formation of a strong protein network that prevents dissolution of the pasta during cooking. Similarly, cookies baked from non-gluten recipes are dry and lose structure after being stored on a shelf for a few days.
The challenge with this research is finding the right gluten-free recipes for making bread, pasta or cookies that have the same great qualities of gluten products. To help solve this problem, Ragaee is leading a project that aims to investigate ways to modify proteins from gluten-free grains, such as corn and chickpeas, to stimulate gluten-like functionality.
Ultimately, she hopes her research will deliver more innovative products for gluten-sensitive consumers, such as those with Celiac disease or a gluten allergy.
“The results from our research on non-gluten proteins will boost the gluten-free food industry in Ontario and Canada,” she says.
Collaborators for this research project are Dr. Elsayed Abdelaal from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Guelph Research Centre, Drs. Loong-Tak Lim and Yasumi Horimoto from the Department of Food Science, and Dr. Vinay Kanetkar from the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies. Funding for this research is provided by Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.