A COMPANY with its roots in Co Down is pivotal to a ground-breaking £1 million project to develop flavourless peas which will be used to replace imported soya in vegan foods.
While peas are well-suited to the UK climate and have environmental benefits as they fix nitrogen in the soil for other crops, their flavour is considered "undesirable" in processed foods.
But now sixth-generation family-owned grass and forage seed specialists and breeders Germinal, which was founded in Banbridge in 1825, is spearheading the ‘Pea Protein’ project to develop peas without their characteristic taste, so they can be used in plant-based meals instead of imported soya.
Demand for plant-based proteins is increasing, as soya forms the basis of most plant-based protein options (last year the UK imported three million tonnes of soya for use in human and animal feeds).
Experts insist the UK has "an unsustainable soya habit which must be broken".
Soya is also a crop associated with deforestation in South America contributing to the acceleration of climate change.
“Finding a sustainable alternative to soya is a priority for the food industry,” according to Paul Billings, managing director of Germinal UK and Ireland, whose academic partner in the unique project is Aberystwyth University.
“Protein crops such as peas are ideal for the UK climate, but one of our challenges is their flavour profile in human food.
“But pea flavours are undesirable for consumers in processed food, so the goal is to produce peas that are tasteless but retain nutritional value.
“The gene for flavourless peas was first identified in the 1990s by scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich.
“This exciting breeding programme will use innovative research in pea genetics to develop new varieties without the traditionally associated problems.”
The project is targeting three important challenges – the urgent need to replace soya with UK protein crops; meeting market demand for taste and functionality; and growing a soya protein alternative sustainably.
Dr Catherine Howarth from Aberystwyth University said: “Peas have an excellent nutritional profile and are an important part of sustainable rotations in UK agriculture.
“They can help reduce our reliance on imported soya, which will support society in meeting the government’s net zero targets.
“There are a vast array of products that include peas as an ingredient and we are excited to be part of this project.”
The programme is part-funded by Defra via Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), as part of the Farming Innovation Pathway.
