Food Development Centre

Published purpose

Peas (Pisum sativum) are one of the main pulse crops grown and studied extensively in Western Canada. However, the beany flavour of pea protein and other pulse ingredients presents challenges in using pea protein in a broad range of food products. They are fractionated using both dry and wet milling to produce starch, protein, and fibre fractions and are also milled to produce pea flour. The demand for peas and their fractions continues to increase due to their known nutritional and health benefits, and the current rise in consumer demand for gluten free products. In this project, the NRC and FDC will explore three possible routes to decrease the off-flavour of pea protein and the acquisition of a rapid fat and moisture analyzer. These topics being investigated include: 1) Exploring new methods of wet and dry fractionation, 2) Explore method development for protein extraction using hydrodynamic cavitation technology, and 3) Gene editing to target lipoxygenases in peas.