A research project undertaken at the Teagasc Food Research Centre in Ashtown is exploring the potential of using Irish cereals in bread, biscuits, scones, crackers and other food products.

Results presented by Eimear Gallagher at this year’s National Tillage Conference highlighted the opportunity to exploit the use of Irish cereals in novel baking formulations. To date, their use in bakery products has been limited but Eimear believes there is significant opportunity to improve on this.

Her project focused on incorporating between 10% and 30% of various oat and barley varieties across a range of bakery and snack products.

A key advantage of using oats and barley in bakery products is that these cereals contain high levels of the soluble fibre Beta-glucan (ß-glucan).

According to Eimear, ß-glucan has garnered a lot of interest in the food industry lately because of its proven cholesterol reducing effects, as well as being beneficial for blood sugar levels and general heart health.

Barley is significantly higher in ß-glucan (2.5-3.5%) when compared to wheat (0.5%) and this could be a key marketing tool for Irish cereals in the future.

The project is entering its final stages and the results are still being collated. Full results from the study will be distributed to industry in the near future.

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