The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru the premier national food and nutrition research institute – has launched its latest superfood, Teff. It has developed an agro-technology to suit Indian conditions for both white and brown varieties of Teff grains.
“Superfoods have advanced nutrition profiles that, upon consistent consumption, can help improve the health and wellness of our population,” said Ram Rajasekharan, director, CSIR-CFTRI. “Superfoods have the potential of helping alleviate malnutrition and help improve the health of those suffering from lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and obesity,” he added.
“In the recent past, we also developed agro-technologies for to grow such superfoods as chia and quinoa in Indian conditions. Earlier the availability of superfoods was only through import, but because they were very expensive, most Indians were unable to afford them,” Rajasekharan added.
Being a drought-resistant crop, Teff has great potential for the nation, yielding about 200-250kg per acre. Teff can be grown in both seasons, namely Kharif (June-July) and Rabi (October-November).
It is suitable for districts with dry zones of agriculture in Karnataka. CFTRI plans to have workshops to sensitise farmers from across the state and help develop recipes for Teff.
CFTRI also has a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Sri Sri Rural Development Programme to extend its efforts to farmers for superfood production and farm gate food processing.
Teff, an ancient grain going back to the civilisations of Abyssinia, is a whole-grain cereal crop and is the staple food crop of Ethiopia. It is gluten-free, has high-resistant starch and low glycemic load. It is a good choice for those suffering with celiac disease, for better diabetes management and weight control.
Teff also has well-balanced protein with all essential amino acids, and is particularly rich in albumin proteins, which is a vegetarian equivalent of egg whites.
“The grain is rich in micronutrients, viz calcium, iron, Vitamin C and other nutrients. Teff, as an ingredient, blends well into various foods like dosas, porridges, roti and gluten-free breads,” stated the institute.
“Our efforts in developing agro-technologies for chia and quinoa have been successful in their cultivation and have increased their availability at an affordable cost in India,” he added.
“Helping both farmers to earn a better livelihood and consumers to get affordable superfoods, developed will augment the health and wellness of Indian population,” Rajasekharan added.
“We intend to help change the Indian palate for a healthier India by providing agro-technologies for super foods. In addition, we also provide solutions for post-harvest management, food processing, advanced nutrition and allied sciences,” he said.