Tritordeum, the “made in Spain” cereal, for sale in Albert Heijn
The first and only cereal created without genetic modification and developed in Spain is already present in 8 countries and Albert Heijn will begin to market bread made with Tritordeum flour very soon.
This cereal, a natural combination of durum wheat, Triticum durum, and a wild barley, Nordeum chilense, was developed by the CSIC (High Council for Scientific Research) and is commercialized by its spin off Agrasys since 2013.
It is currently present in Italy, Turkey, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. The last milestone of the company, based in Barcelona and also present in Córdoba, has been to reach an agreement to introduce the Tritordeum bread in the 720 stores of Albert Heijn in the Netherlands.
Tritordeum is more digestible than wheat and has lower environmental impact. Although it is not suitable for coeliacs, it is for people diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensibility (NGCS). It is a crop that needs less water and less fertilizers and crop-protection products than other cereals, so it has a lower environmental footprint.
For the 2017/2018 season, there are 720 hectares planted in Spain (316), Italy (125) and the south of France (280). 70% of its production comes from organic farming.
Agrasys’ turnover has skyrocketed, going from €130,000 in 2014 to €715,000 in 2017. Italy has already become the first country by turnover of this Spanish company.
Source: elEconomista.es