Miller Magazine Issue: 148 April 2022

79 COVER STORY MILLER / APRIL 2022 IMPROVING NUTRITIONAL PROFILES & CREATING CONSUMER-DRIVEN PRODUCTS The production of lentil flour can be adapted to produce flours with specified end-use characteristics that can be ap- plied to a range of applications from pasta, savoury snacks, baked goods and breakfast cereals. Lentil flour can provide a range of functional benefits in foods including moisture and oil retention, assist as an expansive agent in extruded products or as a clean-label additive for colour develop- ment. Given its versatility in end-use applications, lentil flour can serve as the secret weapon to improve the nutritional profile and create “better-for-you” products through im- provements in protein, fibre, vitamin and mineral content. A research study 3 evaluating the effects of reformulating traditional pan bread, breakfast cereal and pasta formula- tions with 15%, 53% and 30% lentil flour, reported 14-93% increases in the overall nutrient balance score. The nutrient balance score provides an aggregated measure of nutri- ents and other dietary constituents considered to have a positive or negative effect on the nutritional profile of a giv- en food considering both qualifying nutrients (e.g. protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals) and disqualifying nutrients (e.g. salt, fat and cholesterol). Lentil flours are a good option for plant-based protein, and significantly increase the overall content and quality of pro- tein. For instance, the reformulation of breakfast cereal with 53% lentil flour can add up to 78% more protein 3 . Being a rich source of lysine, a limiting amino acid found in most cere- al products, blending lentil flour with cereals in appropriate amounts can improve the overall quality of protein present within foods through increases in measurements such as the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS). BLENDED PRODUCTS INCORPORATING LENTIL & CEREAL FLOURS PROVIDE A WIN-WIN OPPORTUNITY The significance of protein quality improvements is demonstrated in the table presented below, where re- formulating durum wheat pasta to contain 25% lentil flour increased the overall protein content by 26% while also improving the PDCASS from 0.43 to 0.71. For regulatory en- vironments such as Canada and the United States, where the protein quality must be considered to determine a pro- tein claim on packaged foods, the inclusion of lentil flour can increase the amount of overall protein eligible for a claim and be the determining factor as to whether or not a product can be considered a “Good Source of Protein”. Blended products incorporating lentil and cereal flours provide a win-win opportunity to revitalize traditional food formulations through improved nutrition, complementary amino acid profiles, increase protein content, and healthier labels. If you have any questions on pulse flour functionality, ap- plications or anything else, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at jcourcelles@pulsecanada.com . Nutrient Balance Score of traditional and reformulated products containing lentil flour. (Adapted from Chaud- hary, A. & Tremorin, D. 2020). The Nutrient Balance Score considers both qualifying nutrients (e.g. pro- tein, fiber, vitamins and minerals) and disqualify- ing nutrients (e.g. salt, fat and cholesterol). Sources: 1 Euromonitor Consulting (2021). Customer data for Pulse Canada – Pulse Flour Utilization in US Processed Products. 2 Dataessential (2020). Custom data for Saskatchewan Pulse Growers – Lentil Assessment. 3 Tremorin, D. and Chaudhary, A. 2020. Environmental and nutritional impacts of reformulating with pulses. 12th International Conference on Life Cycle Assessment of Food 2020. Berlin, Germany.