Researchers from the Faculty of Science of the University of Porto (FCUP) are studying the microbiota of wheat to create a new food that combines “health and taste” in the same recipe through fermentation. In a statement, the faculty said that despite being essential, wheat is simultaneously seen as “a villain” for “causing less desirable changes in the body”, such as allergies and food intolerances. Thus the focus now on trying to create a new food – one that doesn’t have these drawbacks, but retains at the same time wheat’s capacity for being “one of the most sustainable crops that exist”. The Wheatbiome project is financed with more than five million euros by the European Commission and will develop over the next four years. Besides REQUIMTE from FCUP and GreenUPorto, the project also includes NOVA Medical School and 13 European entities from countries such as Spain, Lithuania, Holland, Poland and Hungary.
