Six bakers and managers from Africa attended the Baking with Soy from Farm to Plate course at Northern Crops Institute on the NDSU campus.
The course was sponsored by the American Soybean Association-WISHH Program, St. Louis, Missouri, and the North Dakota Soybean Council. The nutritional benefits of soy protein in baked products are highlighted at the course, which is attended by participants from Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Uganda, Africa.
The World Initiative for Soy in Human Health brings the nutritional benefits of U.S. soy protein to people in developing countries. One of the most promising uses of soybeans is in bakery products.
Cyrus Guluddene and his brother, Isaac Ssebakijje, both work for the SESACO Co. in Uganda. Cyrus attended the Baking with Soy course, while Isaac took the course in 2013. SESACO is a food processing company that works with soybeans, millet, maize, pulses, groundnuts and oil crops.
"Around 90 percent of Ugandan children are malnourished due to poor feeding. Soybeans bring high protein to our foods, helping us to fight malnutrition in our country," Cyrus said. "We give our thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, American Soybean Association, WISHH, NDSU and Northern Crops Institute for helping us fight malnutrition and poverty in Uganda. After WISHH came into our country, we haven't been the same. When we see the changes you have helped us make, we give thanks."
Rachel Carlson, institute food technologist, and Natsuki Fujiwara, institute food scientist, coordinated and taught the course.
Lecture topics included wheat and wheat flour characteristics, and functional benefits of soy flour in baked products. In addition, participants spend time in the institute's baking laboratory to learn about techniques using soy flour.
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