IIWBR developing millets-based bread, biscuits

ICAR-IIWBR director Ratan Tiwari says the aim is to promote healthy consumption and promote millets.

To promote healthy consumption among people, the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) is taking up research on developing millets-based bread and biscuits.

Wheat is being added to millets which cannot be directly consumed due to their taste and the fact that they are not easy to digest, says Anuj Kumar, principal scientist, Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research.

Scientists at the institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) believe that though wheat has almost all nutritional values for human intake, the blend of millets will add more nutrients.

ICAR-IIWBR director Ratan Tiwari said the basic purpose of the research that is being carried out for the last several months is to promote healthy consumption, particularly among youth, and to largely promote millets, also known as the “superfood of India”.

Scientists said millets, in addition to a plethora of health benefits, have gained worldwide popularity as they are good for the environment as well as require low water and input. Aiming to increase production and consumption of millets due to their nutritional qualities, the world observed 2023 as the International Year of Millets as declared by the United Nations General Assembly, at the behest of the Indian government.

For the research, the IIWBR has used various wheat varieties, particularly the newly introduced ones like DB-370, DB-371 and DB-372 that are bio-fortified and ensure high yield with nearly 12% protein and over 35% iron, said BS Tyagi, a principal scientist at the institute.

Another principal scientist, Anuj Kumar, said a large portion of wheat is being blended with a small portion of barley/chana and two other millets under the research. “We have observed that there cannot be direct consumption of millets due to their taste and the fact that they are not easy to digest. To address both the factors, a large portion of wheat is being added which will also ensure other nutritional values in the product,” he added.

After successful trials and scientific evaluation of the nutritional values in the final product, other items like pasta, chapati and pizza’s base can be added in the research at later stages, Kumar added.