Capitalising on pulse protein food and feed opportunities domestically and internationally

Australia produced on average 2.8 million tons of pulse crops between 2017-2022 most of which are exported as bulk commodities. There has been growing interest in the utilisation of plant-derived proteins (PDP’s) as functional ingredients in many food and beverage applications with the demand for plant-based foods forecast to surpass $250 billion globally by 2035. These new opportunities have the potential to drive improved pulse demand through their protein quality, nutritional value, and functional properties, further maximising the value of these crops. Currently, the processing industry is utilising commercially available varieties, however as the domestic and international markets develop, there will be a requirement for different sources to meet the demands of the expanding food sector. To maintain Australia’s competitiveness and capitalise on emerging growth opportunities and to increase use of Australian pulse crops in processing, it is important that Australian pulse varieties consistently meet and differentiate themselves in the quality, nutritional and functional requirements of pulse processors, ingredient, food and beverage manufacturers both domestically and internationally.

The GRDC is looking to invest in four key areas with focus on

· characterising the protein content and quality,

· nutritional composition, and

· functional attributes of different Australian pulses (chickpea, faba bean, field peas, lentil, lupin and mung bean).

· effects of genotype and environment interaction on the above attributes.

These will be used to develop an information library that will serve as a foundational resource to guide and direct value addition opportunities by processors, ingredient formulators, food manufacturers, technology developers to meet existing and emerging market demands.

Ultimately, the information generated from this investment will form the foundation that will assist Australian processors to reliably access pulse grains that have the correct quality attributes for their intended purpose, Australian pulse breeders to develop varieties with quality traits that are market driven; and facilitate Australia growers growing pulse varieties for which there is a market and consumers get the product they want.

Note for applicants: Analytics support is available as an in-kind GRDC contribution to this investment through GRDC’s strategic partnership Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI). Support could include advice on experimental and sampling design and analysis of field and laboratory experiments. To access AAGI support, applicants must consult AAGI and describe the agreed scope of support in their tender. Please make enquiries to the University of Adelaide Biometry Hub (attention Dr Julian Taylor) at [email hidden]. Please note, applicants that decline AAGI support must describe a plan for analytics in their tender. Applicants must demonstrate they have the analytics capabilities required to deliver the Outputs.