Teijin to launch Barlyemax Super Barley in Europe

Teijin has signed an agency contract with Emilio Peña SA (EPSA), a Spanish manufacturer, importer and distributor of food additives and ingredients, to sell Teijin’s highly nutritious Barleymax super barley in Europe.

Taking advantage of EPSA’s sales channels in Spain and Portugal, Teijin aims to encourage local food manufacturers to adopt Barleymax in place of conventional barley, mainly for use in breads and cereals.

Going forward, Teijin expects to establish additional sales channels in countries such as Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands to enhance its presence in the European market for functional food ingredients. Barleymax is part of Teijin’s healthcare business.

Barleymax has nearly 40 times more dietary fibre than white rice, compared to just 15 times more for rolled barley, according to Teijin. It contains dietary fibres such as fructan, β-glucan and resistant starch, each of which enters the intestine at a different digestive rate to provide food for good bacteria. Barleymax also contains iron, zinc, niacin and vitamin B6, all typically lacking in modern diets. Furthermore, Barleymax offers nutritional balance and contains less sugar than other grains, according to data cited in the Standard Tables of Food Composition, part of the Japanese Food Labeling Standards.

Barleymax has a mild taste, neither bitter nor harsh, and is sweeter than general barleys. It also is virtually odourless. With such benefits, it is increasingly being adopted for use in cooked rice, cereals, confectionery and breads in Japan and other parts of Asia as well as in countries of other regions where health consciousness is rising, such as the United States and Australia.

Barleymax was developed in Australia by the national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSRIO).

In Europe, barley has a long history in the local food culture as a popular and widely used ingredient in breads and cereals. Based on data from industry reports, research by Teijin indicates that compared to Japan, Europe’s barley demand is about 15 times greater for cereals and about 30 times greater for breads. Furthermore, European sales of breads and cereals containing dietary fibre are rising due to increasing health consciousness and demand for high performance food ingredients rich in dietary fibre.

Teijin is confident that Europe represents a highly promising market for the abundant dietary fibre, nutritional balance and the relatively sweet taste of Barleymax given that conventional barley has a distinctive taste that is not to everyone’s liking.

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