Spaghetti
science
BAKERY, CEREAL & GRAINS
Andrew Spence Banner
A pasta industry more than 15,000 km from Italy is thriving thanks to a collaboration between farmers, durum wheat researchers and a major food manufacturer.
A
lmost no durum wheat was grown in southern Australia until the 1990s when Adelaidebased San Remo Macaroni Company and a handful of growers approached the University of Adelaide about developing varieties that could handle the often harsh conditions in South Australia. Two decades and several new varieties later and the southern region of Australia is producing durum wheat and pasta of such high quality it is being snapped up around the globe. San Remo has been manufacturing pasta in the South Australian capital since 1936 but relied on durum wheat grown in northern New South Wales, about 1500 km from Adelaide, for many years. Durum wheat breeder Jason Able from the university’s School of Agriculture, Food & Wine said the ‘closed triangle’ relationship between researchers, growers and San Remo had allowed the southern region to rival the much older northern Australian region in production and quality. He said the relationship also allowed San Remo to operate more efficiently, manufacture a 100% durum wheat product and build an association in conjunction with growers. “We’re very fortunate that through the grower association and the end user San Remo we’ve got a very unique relationship here where the breeding program works closely with the growers and San Remo,” Associate Professor Able said. “We’ve got the basic fundamental science where it starts, which then feeds into the breeding program, followed by the growers, buyers and end users — the whole supply chain.” South Australia is the driest state on the driest continent on earth. The durum breeding program was started at the University of Adelaide by Professor Tony Rathjen, who used traditional non-GMO breeding methods to cross-breed germplasm from arid regions such as the Middle East and Turkey. The program now uses markers to identify genetic signatures, in particular germplasm, for traits such as salinity and boron tolerance.
32
July/August 2017
www.foodprocessing.com.au