A new type of wheat that has ten times the amount of the fibre has been developed by an international team including CSIRO.
The new wheat which is high in amylose, could provide millions of people with a lot more fibre without having to change their eating habits, and also improve gut health, fight bowel cancer and Type 2 diabetes.
In the American States of Idaho, Oregon and Washington, a small number of farmers have just harvested the first crop of the wheat.
The wheat will be processed into flour and incorporated into a range of food products.
In Australia, Arista is partnering with a breeding company to develop high-amylose wheat varieties suitable for different regions.
They are working on producing enough grain for product testing and seeds for initial commercialisation.
One of CSIRO’s principal research scientists Ahmed Regina said products made from high-amylose wheat contained more than ten times the resistant starch, a type of dietary fibre, than those made from regular wheat.
"Largely lacking in Western diets, resistant starch is known to improve digestive health, protect against the genetic damage that precedes bowel cancer and help combat Type 2 diabetes," Dr Regina said.
"Wheat is the most popular source of dietary fibre and eaten by 30 per cent of the world's population,” she said.
"Having a wheat with high levels of resistant starch enables people to get this important fibre without changing the type of grain they eat or the amount of grain-based foods they need for recommended dietary levels."
The team responsible for developing the new type of wheat are hopeful an Australian-based company will capitalise on the opportunity to market it locally.
CSIRO and an Arista Director Lindsay Adler said the company was keen to find an Australian licensee who would develop a new product for local and possibly also Asian markets.
"This is an opportunity ripe for the picking, with customers across the world increasingly demanding foods with improved health benefits," Mr Adler said.
CSIRO has developed other novel grains that commercial partners have taken to market, including the ultra-low gluten barley, Kebari and BARLEYmax, a barley with high levels of resistant starch.
