Twelve food processors and food brokers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand were at Northern Crops Institute during July to learn about the uses of dry edible beans in food products. The course focused on U.S. pinto, navy, black, great northern and kidney beans.

The U.S. is the fifth largest producer of dry edible beans worldwide. North Dakota and Minnesota produce nearly 50 percent of the dry edible beans grown in the U.S.

"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a growing economic power, and consumers from this region have unique trends," says Mehmet Tulbek, Northern Crops Institute technical director and lecturer in the course. "Due to the joint efforts of Northern Crops Institute and the U.S. Dry Bean Council during the last three years, we have reached several companies in the region. We are hoping that our work will increase the edible bean sales to the region."

Tulbek said dry edible beans are rich in protein, fiber and micronutrients. "In our first dry edible bean short course at NCI, we highlighted dry bean flour utilization and novel edible bean applications to the Southeast Asian buyers," Tulbek said. "We demonstrated dry edible bean breeding, quality, milling, utilization solutions, cost management, nutritional strategies as well as the supply chain and processing practices in the U.S."

Lectures were supplemented by hands-on experiences in the institute's analytical, milling, baking, pasta and extrusion processing laboratories.

The participants also toured a Walmart store, NDSU Greenhouses and NDSU edible bean breeding field plots, SK Food Specialty Processing facility in Moorhead, Minn., and their corporate offices in Fargo. The group also met with staff from the North Dakota Trade Office, Fargo.

Speakers and technicians for the course included Natsuki Fujiwara, Northern Crops Institute food technologist; Clifford Hall, NDSU cereal and food sciences department; Thunyaporn Jeradechachai, Northern Crops Institute crop quality specialist; Phil McClean, NDSU plant sciences department; Rilie Morgan, Northern Crops Institute processing specialist; Frayne Olson, NDSU Extension Service; Juan Osorno, NDSU plant sciences department; and Tulbek.

The course was co-sponsored by the U.S. Dry Bean Council.