MEDWHEALTH

Development of new wheat-derived foods of the Mediterranean diet with improved nutritional and health value

MEDWHEALTH

ABSTRACT

MEDWHEALTH proposes to develop durum wheat-derived products typical of Mediterranean Diet with improved nutritional value and new technological properties. MEDWHEALTH will develop novel durum-based foods traditional of the Mediterranean area by using innovative wheat materials and processes: i) high amylose durum wheat to improve fiber content, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; ii) soft durum wheat to improve sustainability, nutritional and technological quality; iii) meal flours from other cereals and legumes to improve mineral content, protein content and composition. With a view to preserving traditions, female cooperatives of different countries will be engaged to realize local food products using raw materials proposed in the project. To respect the cultural identity and local biodiversity, MEDWHEALTH will develop products typical of each country involved in the project: pasta, taralli, frise, durum wheat bread for Italy; bulgur and flat breads for Turkey; couscous for Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria; freekeh for Lebanon. MEDWHEALTH will also evaluate the protective actions of a diet based on the consumption of durum wheat-based foods improved in fiber content and protective bioactive compounds such as micronutrients and health-promoting phytochemicals on chronic metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Indeed, information and data gathered from fields, laboratories, sensorial analyses and piloting processing plants will be used to assess production costs and environmental impact of new products. These estimates are aimed to evaluate the potential development of a new value chain based on re-formulated, against the conventional durum wheat-based products, focusing on the gains that downstream value chain actors can achieve.

Identification Code: Grant agreement n. 2034 CUP J85F20000510005

Total project cost: € 1.900.000,00

Total cost DAFNE: € 448.000,00

DAFNE Role:  Lead Partner
Scientific Supervisor DAFNE: Prof. Francesco SESTILI

Email: francescosestili@unitus.it

Start date: 01/10/2021

End date: 30/09/2025

LINK

https://mel.cgiar.org/projects/medwhealth

PARTNERSHIP

• Università degli Studi della Tuscia (UNITUS)
• International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas  (ICARDA)
• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISPA-CNR)
• Istinye University (ISU)
• Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI)
• National Institute for Agricultural Research Morocco (INRAM)
• National Institute for Agricultural Research Tunisia (INRAT)
• National Institute for Agricultural Research Algeria (INRAA)
• Promolog srl

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