Gluten is a plant protein found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye and oats. Gluten-free foods are dietary foods consisting, or produced, solely of one or more ingredients that do not contain wheat, rye, barley, oats or their hybrids, and in which the gluten content does not exceed 20 mg/kg in the entire food product.
When choosing the main and additional raw materials when creating gluten-free products, it is important to take into account the content of gluten in them and be guided by Codex Alimentarius 118. Products based on gluten-free grains such as corn, rice and buckwheat are traditional for celiac patients.
According to modern data, the prevalence of celiac disease (a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the small intestine of genetically predisposed patients in response to contact with a cereal protein toxic to them – gluten) in Europe is about 1%, however, the disease is clinically manifested and laboratory confirmed by no means in all cases, therefore, the number of diagnosed and undiagnosed cases is in the ratio 1:7-1:13.
In Kazakhstan, according to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 472 people suffer from it. Of these, 421 children. In our country, the incidence of celiac disease is increasing every year, but the population consumes imported gluten-free products, which are particularly expensive. There is no production of gluten-free products in the country, which affects their pricing.
Nowdays , most of the technologies developed in the world of gluten-free products belong to the largest companies in America and Europe, such as: Dr.Schaer, Aproten, GLUTANO FARMO – Italy; GULLON – Spain; Bezglutenex, Balviten, Glutenex – Poland; Maddys – USA; Milupa, Hammermühle, СamidaMed – Germany; Taranis – France; Promin, The Bridge – UK. All their products are protected by patents and are labeled “gluten-free” on the packaging. But, unfortunately, this category of products is very expensive and not always available for people suffering from celiac disease. And besides, products with the appropriate labeling are not produced in our country. On average, the cost of such products is 5-10 times higher than the cost of conventional flour products.
Currently, in Kazakhstan, various grains, legumes and oilseeds, such as buckwheat, corn, rice, millet, flax, etc., are grown in sufficient volume, which can be a valuable raw material for obtaining flour for the production of gluten-free pasta.
Head of the project “Development of gluten-free pasta technology based on domestic raw materials”, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences A.I. Kabylda