Enabling Legume Processing: opportunities and barriers. Legume Innovation Network (LIN) 2nd workshop of the Atlantic-Boreal Region

The 2nd Legume Innovation and Network (LIN) workshop for the Atlantic-Boreal Region entitled “Enabling Legume Processing: opportunities and barriers”, took place Tuesday 7th May 2019 at Hotel Sinatur, Nyborg, Denmark. It was hosted by Karen Hamann from the Institute for Food Studies & Agro Industrial Development Aps (IFAU) in collaboration with the association, Organic Denmark. The main objectives of the workshop were to allow participants to benefit from the insight, research and experiences of the TRUE Project-partners and stakeholders from the whole legume value chain and to explore innovative practices of legume processing. The workshop convened 54 participants including TRUE members, whose interests spanned the whole legume-based value chain. The programme featured nine oral presentations and a fieldtrip to a local food factory. Discussions and dialogue among the participants were facilitated through three break-out sessions and a display of nine posters. The overall emphasis was on the development of solutions to address the challenges of increasing legume production and consumption in the EU, that have been identified and discussed in the previous workshops, especially in relation to processing. Thus, the speakers touched upon several results from the ongoing innovation and general trends. Among the information communicated, it was found that processing by smaller operators (SMEs) can be fulfilled, since facilities and machines to process small quantities (from one tonne) are currently available. In addition, there are promising opportunities in biorefining legumes. For example, using existing technologies such as brewing and distilling, which can deliver important potential for co-products, for example in fish feed to replace ingredients which would otherwise have been produced from the marine food-system. Similarly, there are positive results from exploring biorefined clover-grass as a protein source for feed of poultry and pigs, and the production of other promising by-products, i.e. in biogas production. The consumer trends for healthier and more ethical lifestyles and consumption patterns are also pushing demand for pulses and for new legume-based food and drink products. The focus of the discussions in the first break-out session were on six policy pathways to foster increased production and consumption of legumes, these included: 1, knowledge transfer; 2, public-private partnerships; 3, improved financial incentives; 4, certification and labelling; 5, integration of health and nutrition aspects; and 6, agro-ecological approaches. During the second round of discussion, the main themes were vulnerability and resilience of legume-based supply chains. The lack of knowledge of the benefits of legumes was raised as a main issue to be addressed, both among farmers, producers, outlets and consumers as well as decision makers and cooks etc. Developing and implementing a Life Cycle Analyses (LCA) label was considered as an important way forward, as illustrated here by the comparative analysis of pasta made from chickpeas compared to wheat.