The wheat with reduced gluten joins the company’s GoodWheat portfolio of branded ingredients. GoodWheat branded bread wheat flour with the reduced gluten wheat should be available to test milling and baking ability in late 2018 with a projected launch for pre-commercial activities about a year later.

While Beyond Celiac, Ambler, Pennsylvania, U.S., a non-profit organization that seeks to drive diagnosis and advance research on celiac disease, estimates about 1% of the U.S. population suffers from celiac disease and must avoid gluten, a larger number of people who choose to eat gluten-free products do not have gluten-related medical conditions. Beyond Celiac estimates about six times more Americans have “non-celiac gluten sensitivity” than Americans who have celiac disease.

Raj Ketkar, president and chief executive officer of Arcadia Biosciences

“A growing number of consumers are making a conscious effort to reduce gluten in their diets, even if they haven’t been diagnosed with celiac disease,” said Raj Ketkar, president and chief executive officer of Arcadia Biosciences. “So we developed reduced gluten GoodWheat to give those consumers more choices to continue enjoying the healthy wheat-based foods they love. These proprietary wheat varieties, developed using advanced screening and plant breeding techniques, also give food processors an opportunity to differentiate their brands and create unique brand extensions.”

Arcadia’s reduced gluten wheat was developed through research funded in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders Institute. Arcadia Biosciences also is studying ways to reduced allergenic gluten levels in pasta wheat.