Rich in Fiber, Antioxidant

National Institute of Crop Science director Kim Yong-chul shows Ariheuk (left) and general wheat for comparison.
National Institute of Crop Science director Kim Yong-chul shows Ariheuk (left) and general wheat for comparison.

The South Korean wheat market is about to see a significant change as a local research team has recently developed colored wheat.

The Rural Development Administration of South Korea announced on May 29 that it developed colored wheat Ariheuk in cooperation with the Gov.3.0 Design Group, which consists of producers, consumers and scholars.

The dark red wheat is richer in anthocyanin, tannin and polyphenol than general wheat. In addition, the former is about 10 times more antioxidant than the latter. The whole-wheat flour of Ariheuk is rich in vitamins B1 and B2, calcium, iron and zinc, too.

At present, general farming households can neither cultivate nor sell Ariheuk for patent-related matters. This is to block the dark red wheat from mixing with other kinds of wheat and guarantee certain farming households’ profits by means of contract cultivation. The cultivation area is currently 1.6 ha and is scheduled to be increased to 30 ha in the second half of this year and and 50 ha next year.

The Rural Development Administration has applied for a plant patent for Ariheuk and transferred the cultivation technique to three private and public organizations. Also, they have signed business agreements for raw Ariheuk supply, processed product development, export, etc.

One of the organizations has developed prototype snacks, breads, teas and lunch meals based on Ariheuk. Processed food products are slated to be sold both at home and abroad in the second half of this year. To this end, it recently signed a contract with a Chinese company for 20,000 snack packs.

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