AHRENSBURG, GERMANY — Three winners were announced in MC Muhlenchemie’s first Flour Innovation Award, recognizing innovative solutions for the sustainable use of wheat and local agricultural commodities.

An international jury of scientists and industry experts evaluated 23 research projects from four continents in deciding who received the award. Prize money totaling €10,000 ($10,881) was divided among the three winners.

The first prize at €5,000 went to Yusuf Kewuyemi, a doctoral student at the University of Johannesburg, for his development of 3D-printed crackers from processed whole grain flour made of African-grown peas and quinoa.

In order to raise the flour’s nutritional content and improve its bioavailability, Kewuyemi used innovative techniques like fermentation and germination. The research shows that traditional crops can be transformed into health-promoting foods using innovative processing techniques.

The second prize at €3,000 went to Abdulhakim Idris of Jimma University in Jimma, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. In his study “Optimizing the process variables for the production of oat compound biscuits” he looked into the optimum mix of wheat and oat flour for making biscuits. Different parameters were analyzed, including mixing ratio, baking time and baking temperature, along with their influence on properties like the weight, thickness, spread ratio and texture of the biscuits.

The results showed that a mix ratio of 15% oats to 85% wheat, a temperature of 300°C and baking time of 3:30 minutes provide the ideal conditions for making oat/wheat biscuits that do not differ from pure wheat biscuits in their sensory qualities. This creates the basis for the further commercialization of mixed oat biscuits, the development of applications for other oat products, and the promotion of oats as a little-used grain to fill out the annual grain deficit.

The third place prize of €2,000 went to Saqib Arif of the University of Karachi in Pakistan. His study looked at the potential of composite flour from mixes of underused grains in response to the worldwide rise in wheat prices and increasing sustainability concerns. The results show that mixed flours have a better nutrition profile, are rich in fiber and bioactive compounds, and thus represent a promising possibility for reducing dependence on wheat, although challenges remain with regard to processability and sensory characteristics.

The awards were offered for the first time on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of MC. They honor scientific work around the production and processing of non-wheat flours and their blends with wheat flour, especially those that use local commodities. The objective is to encourage research into alternatives to wheat flour, in order to achieve greater independence from wheat and global markets.

“The research projects submitted demonstrate that composite flour has enormous potential to make the future of our food production sustainable,” said Dr. Lutz Popper, chairman of the jury of the Composite Flour Science Award, and originator of the awards. “They show that with intelligent and innovative methods, we can reduce our dependence on wheat without having to give up taste and quality. This look into the future promises many exciting developments, and we’re looking forward to continuing to promote and support progress.”