In Pulse flours to the fore, Jeff Gelski of Food Business News explores the opportunity in replacing a portion of wheat flour with pulse flours thereby increasing the quality protein of a given product. “Pulse flour used in conjunction with cereal flour improves the quality of protein without the need for fractionation into pea protein concentrate/isolate and pea starch. For this reason pulse flours are more economical since less processing equals less cost as well as the added benefit of a cleaner label and a more environmentally friendly product.”
Providing Solutions with Pulse Ingredients in Product Development Applications was standing room only at the American Association of Cereal Chemists International Meeting; Providence, New Hampshire. Best Cooking Pulses was the financial sponsor of this scientific session. Presentations included:
Best Cooking Pulses, Inc. Supplier Innovation Session ‘Maximizing quality protein using complementary plant proteins’ was well attended by delegates at the American Association of Cereal Chemists International Meeting held in Providence, New Hampshire. This officially launched the second of Best Cooking Pulses whitepaper series: ‘Pulse ingredients for healthy diets and a sustainable world: Maximizing quality protein using complementary plant proteins’ by Linda Malcolmson, James D House and Margaret Hughes. Publication followed in Food Navigator US, and Food Navigator Baking and Snacking News.
In Best Cooking Pulses Discusses Prediabetes Study, Brenden Harris (reporter at Portage on line) featured an interview with Margaret Hughes regarding the prediabetes clinical trials that are to be held both at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, New York) and the Richardson Center for Functional foods and Nutraceuticals (Manitoba) over the next two years. Best Cooking Pules is supplying BEST Whole Pinto Bean Flour made from locally grown pinto beans.
‘Food companies, restaurants add protein to beef up profits’ (Reuters) examines protein fortification of food and the Canadian Pulse industries. Different companies, including Best Cooking Pulses, Inc., are expanding to service North American food markets.
‘Pulse Ingredients: The Gluten-Free Advantage’ by Linda Malcolmson and Margaret Hughes was featured in the European publication The World of Food Ingredients Issue: September 2014.
CFRY, local radio station to Portage la Prairie Best Cooking Pulses facility, conducted an enthusiastic interview regarding Best Cooking Pulses involvement in the Mayo Clinic trials.
Pembina on line interviewed Best Cooking Pulses regarding the new pulse ingredients they have milled for inclusion in the functional foods that will be used the MAHRN/Step One Foods clinical trials to be held at the Richardson Center for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals in Manitoba and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Best Cooking Pulses has been engaged as an industry partner with MAHRN, the Manitoba Agri-health Research Network, to support them with Manitoba food ingredients for their collaboration with Minnesota-based Step One Foods, a pioneer in food-based solutions for chronic disease. Working together, MAHRN and Step One Foods, will conduct clinical trials in both Manitoba and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The trials will use food and nutrient therapies to fight pre-diabetes. Best Cooking Pulses are providing BEST Whole Pinto Bean Flour to create nutritious crispies which have been adopted by Step One Foods and are now part of the pre-diabetes trial.
Manitoba crop ingredients to help combat prediabetes
Pulse Flours & Fiber in Gluten-Free & Grain Applications was presented by Margaret Hughes at the Western Canadian Functional Food Ingredients: Strategies to Manage Costs & Enhance Products, held at the Richardson Center for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, Winnipeg, June 11-12.
A lot of room to boost pulses intakes for heart benefits’: New analysis supports cholesterol lowering effects of pulses’, recently published in Food Navigator-USA (Stephen Daniels), summarized the findings of Dr Sievenpiper et al (St Michael’s Hospital, Canada) systematic review and meta-analysis of 26 randomized controlled trials comparing pulse-rich diets with diets of equal caloric level that did not include pulses, published this month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal .
Quoted in the article, Margaret Hughes, VP Sales and Marketing, Best Cooking Pulses, Inc. commented “This study reaffirms that putting whole pulses back into the diet can reduce the risk of heart disease. Consuming just one serving of pulses a day significantly lowers LDL cholesterol levels. And as the authors point out, incorporating pulses into the diet may also curb other cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and diabetes. The take-home message is that by boosting consumption of whole peas, beans, chickpeas and lentils, we can help to reverse the epidemic of heart disease. In fact, innovative food companies have already begun to incorporate whole pulse flours into breads, crackers, cereals, food coatings and so on.”
Best Cooking Pulses newly launched white paper: ‘Pulse ingredients for healthy diets and a sustainable world: gluten-free applications’ is well received by the food research and development community. This is the first in a series examining how pulse flours and pea fiber can boost nutrition, increase potential health benefits, and provide functionality in a wide range of food products.
‘Pulses for gluten-free: ‘We are what they need,’ says Best Cooking Pulses’ is published in Food Navigator-USA.
The United Nations has declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses. Pulses (peas, beans lentils and chickpeas) have been the cornerstone of global nutrition for centuries. Having a UN dedicated year will raise awareness of pulses and the important role they play in health, nutrition, food security and environmental sustainability. Peter Watts of Pulse Canada provides further detail.