High-fibre wheat set to enter global market

A new wheat that delivers three to five times more fibre to consumer products is performing well in retail stores across the US and will now be marketed to other regions of the world. The high-fibre wheat was developed over 20 years by Arista Cereals, a joint venture between CSIRO and farmer-led cooperative Limagrain. The wheat is available for a range of products in the US, including tortillas, pasta and pizza bases.

Arista achieved the high-fibre content through conventional breeding, to ensure more resistant starch than traditional wheat. Western diets often lack resistant starch, which is a fermentable fibre that is resistant to digestion in the small intestine and can help improve digestive health, protect against genetic damage that precedes bowel cancer and help combat Type 2 diabetes. The CEO of Arista cereals, Eric Vaschalde, said this is the first wheat that has been developed specifically to target human health benefits.

“Our high-fibre wheat has an active prebiotic effect. People who choose this over conventional wheat are able to boost their fibre intake without having to stop eating the foods they love,” Vaschalde said.

Vaschalde explained that the health properties of high-fibre wheat have led to Arista’s patents being challenged in the US over the last three years.

“We knew we had a strong patent position, having filed more than 50 patents worldwide, through different patent families. Thanks to the help of patent specialists at CSIRO, the expertise of our stakeholders and the support of our exclusive partner in USA, we were able to defend our patent position,” Vaschalde said.

All disputes were settled favourably for Arista at the end of 2019. With its strong patent coverage in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea and European countries, the company plans to have high-amylose wheat products available in Australia from 2021.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Dimitrije Tanaskovic