User:FDii15/sandbox

Nutritional status
The indigenous Andean food crops, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus) and qañiwa have a remarkably high nutritional value. They are especially good sources of proteins, calcium, iron and health - promoting bioactive compounds such as flavonoids. Their protein, calcium, zinc and iron content is higher than that of more widely commercialized cereals and since they are gluten-free, they can be used by those who suffer from coeliac disease.

The protein content (15.3%) of qañiwa grain is significantly higher than that of quinoa and kiwicha and qañiwa’s protein quality is remarkably good. Its amino acid’s composition is nutritionally balanced, it contains an adequate level of essential amino acids and the nutritional value of qañiwa proteins is equivalent to that of milk proteins which allows it to substitute animal proteins. Additionally, this crop is a good source of good quality edible oil since its lipids consist mainly of unsaturated fatty acids which have various beneficial functions such as the maintenance of the fluidity of cell membranes. Thus, for the inhabitants of the Altiplano, qañiwa is a main source of calories which makes this crop an extremely important one. This Latin American grain has even further nutritional benefits. First, unlike quinoa, qañiwa contains a much lower amount of the bitter tasting saponins what makes it more tasty and convenient for consumption since it can be used directly as food without washing. Second, this crop has a high dietary fibre content which have beneficial health effects such as improving the digestion and reducing the level of cholesterol in blood. Third, qañiwa grain is an notable source of phenolic compound (phenols) and its antioxidant activity is high which has also positive effects on health.

Use
Qañiwa can be easily milled to flour which can than be prepared as a toasted qañiwa flour called kañiwaco. Kañiwaco has a nutty-taste and can be mixed with water and milk for a breakfast meal. Since it’s rich in calories and proteins, local people takes it on long travels. Additionally, qañiwa flour can be used for a lot of other purposes such as bread-making, pastry-making and noodles-making. Some varieties of qañiwa can even be included in sweets, snacks and weaning food mixtures.

The cooking and extrusion technology tests have already shown successful results in several countries. This technology present numerous advantages such as low cost, simple operation, moderate production volume, minimum auxiliary equipment, versatility, good sanitary conditions and easy management. Results from a study demonstrated that the initial moisture content of 12% was optimal to obtain an extrudate with good physicochemical characteristics (e.g. degree of gelatinization, sectional expansion index, water absorption index, water solubility index and density). Thus, the food industry should assess this ingredient (extrudate of qañiwa) because of its functional properties and high nutrient content. Additionally, roasting does not significantly affect the dialyzability of nutritionally valuable minerals in qañiwa. Boiling, however, was found to increase zinc, iron and calcium dialyzability.

Importance for Food Security
In some parts of the Andean region, there are serious nutritional problems. The most affected ones are the families living in rural areas which have limited access to commodities due to a lack of income. On top of that, there are every once in a while severe shortage of food due to natural disaster such as droughts. Therefore, under such conditions, it is essential for peasants to be able to rely on easily accessible products that are well adapted to the harsh weather conditions. Qañiwa is easily accessible and resistant so when all other crops fail, qañiwa still succeed to provide food and income for highland farmers what brings better Food Security.

However, even if Andean crops have been an important part of the Latin American diet for a very long time, the current tendency is to replace native crops with imported food products which are cheaper but of lower quality. The problem is that if this tendency doesn’t change, the production of native products will not be able to stay competitive and they might completely lose their market. Therefore, in order to alleviate these problems new food-processing technologies and products should be developed to encourage companies to process Andean crops to increase the consumption of those native crops as well as open larger markets.