Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
February 3, 2003

Safer food with a longer shelf life - this is the target of a new research project that promises to create new market opportunities for Canadian yellow field pea growers.

Dr. Jung Han and colleagues at the University of Manitoba are investigating the potential of using pea material as a protective food coating. This three-year project is funded in part by the Endowment Fund, administered by Western Grains Research Foundation.

"The food industry's most important considerations are food safety and shelf life," says Han. "Fresh, perishable food is under constant threat from bacteria and requires a protective barrier, such as an edible coating. Yellow field peas show excellent potential."

Opening the food coating market to field peas would provide a major boost for the crop, he says. Field pea acreage on the Canadian Prairie has grown dramatically in recent years, with 2.8 million tonnes produced in 2000-01. But nearly all are used for animal feed.

"If we succeed in developing food coatings from yellow field peas, it will have a tremendous impact on the market opportunities available to pea growers," says Han. "The benefits of improved food safety and longer shelf life will also benefit food consumers, the milling industry and the food industry as a whole."

This research will tackle two types of bacteria - pathogenic, such as E. coli O157:H7, and spoilage, such as mould.

Previous research by Han and his colleagues demonstrated that pea starch, protein and fibres can be used to make strong edible films and coatings. In the new project, the researchers will further develop these uses and explore the potential of incorporating antimicrobial agents into the pea-based films.

"We know that fractions of peas can be made into strong water insoluble films," says Han. "So, our first step is to make those films and test the different variations for their specific physical and mechanical properties. We want to ensure we're starting with the strongest film possible before we look at adding a bioactive agent."

The researchers plan to test several chemical and natural antimicrobial agents, such as herb oils and organic acids, for bioactivity against E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Brocothrix thermosphacta.

Antimicrobial edible films will then be produced using selected agents. Researchers will test the antimicrobial activity of the films using an agar plate method in order to measure the efficiency of the film system and find the most effective film formulation.

If this project is successful, it will like spark further research with other plant fibres, starches, and proteins.

"There will be continued research, I'm sure," says Han. "But, as far as I'm concerned, it's this pea research that will be the most important, because of the new market opportunities it will create for Western Canadian pea growers."

The Endowment Fund has allocated over $17 million to more than 200 research projects since its inception in 1983. The Fund is administered by Western Grains Research Foundation.