At a digital awards ceremony on 4 July, MC Mühlenchemie announced the winners of the 2023 Flour Innovation Award. The prize, which is for innovative solutions for the sustainable use of wheat and local agricultural commodities, was offered for the first time on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of MC Mühlenchemie. Composite flour innovations were the objective, and the winners came from South Africa, Ethiopia and Pakistan.

The award honours 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.

GLOBAL RELEVANCE AND VARIETY

23 research projects from nine countries on four continents were submitted for the 2023 Composite Flour Innovation Award. A jury of international experts evaluated the studies and practical projects completed from 2019 to 2022, and selected three awardees.

“The impressive diversity of the submissions shows the worldwide importance and relevance of composite flour. The work reflects developments and innovations in the field, and helps us gain a deeper understanding of the use and processing of composite flours,” said Dr. Lutz Popper, originator of the Flour Innovation Award.

The prize money, totalling 10,000 euros, was divided among the three winners. The first prize, at 5,000 euros, 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. These plants are highly nutritious and can help reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases. In order to raise the flour’s nutritional content and improve its bioavailability, Kewuyemi used innovative techniques like fermentation and germination. The final product is a functional, highly nutritious snack in the form of a 3D-printed cracker. This research shows that traditional crops can be transformed into health-promoting foods using innovative processing techniques.