October 2007

MANITOBA-MADE FOOD PRODUCT TAKES INTERNATIONAL PRIZE

October 15, 2007 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A University of Manitoba team is returning to Winnipeg from San Antonio, Texas with a prestigious product development award. The winning product, a new snack food called Globix, contains navy bean flour developed with the help of an Agri-Food Research and Development Initiative (ARDI) grant.

 Alex Anton, a University of Manitoba master’s student from Brazil, is working under the supervision of Dr. Susan Arntfield in the Department of Food Science on an ARDI-funded project to develop new, healthy snack foods from pulse crops such as beans, peas and lentils. Using navy bean and whole wheat flours as the basis for their product, Anton and his colleagues took the U of M team to victory with Globix, healthy and crunchy sticks that come in jalapeno, creamy dill, mild curry and wasabi flavours.

 The Product Development Competition is an annual competition, held during the AACC International Annual Meeting, and invites student members to create a new product containing at least one major cereal ingredient. Previously known as the American Association of Cereal Chemists, AACC International gives cash awards to the top three teams. On Oct. 8, 2007, the judges awarded Anton and his team first prize and $3,000.

 “Bean flour is a critical ingredient and I think that’s why we won the competition,” says Anton, who earlier this year won Canada’s 2007 International Student of the Year. “Beans are super high in protein and dietary fibre, but getting the right texture and flavour in the final product presented some challenges.” Anton notes that Globix is also a source of all essential amino acids and has zero per cent fat.

 The University of Manitoba team was one of six universities to make the short list for the competition, all of them with strong cereal science programs, including Cornell University; Michigan State University; Purdue University; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; and Texas A&M.

ARDI is a research and development granting program of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. It is funded through the Agricultural Policy Framework, a federal-provincial-territorial long-term action plan for agriculture.

 AACC International gathers and disseminates scientific and technical information to professionals in the grain-based foods industry worldwide, and has been doing so for more than 90 years. 

Full University of Manitoba Student Team:

Alex Anton

An Da

Daiva Daugelaite

Blanca Gomez Guerrero

Fernando Luciano

Arshala Madapathage Dona

Heather Maskus

Lini Qiao

Nikolay Repin

Carol Rosa

Lili Zhang

For more information, please contact:

Alex Anton, University of Manitoba

Phone: (204) 798-7058

Rhea Yates, ARDI Communication

Phone: (204) 896-6926 or Cell: (204) 232-0840

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