Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Master of Applied Science

Faculty

Faculty of Science and Technology

First Supervisor

Dr Francis Flanagan

Second Supervisor

David Petterson

Abstract

More than one million tonnes of lupin seed are produced per annum in Western Australia. Lupin can be considered as an alternative to staple pulse food items such as soybeans, peas, chick peas and mung beans. This research was designed to provide potential investors with objective scientifically obtained evidence of the feasibility, and marketing potential, of using lupin as a basis for the commercial development of value added foods, in this case commercially grown lupin sprouts. Sprouts were selected because sprouted lupins are comparable with mung bean sprouts, the market leader, as regards yield and consumer acceptance as a food ingredient. Moreover, there is evidence that Perth based manufacturers of mung bean sprouts experience problems with the supply and quality of the raw mung seeds. The hypothesis which I sought to test was that lupin could be used for the commercial production of sprouts, either as a substitute for mung sprouts or as an additional sprout crop. The commercial environment at JAS is described and analysed in comparison with Guidelines provided in the Camden Technical Manual. Lupin sprouts can be grown commercially with a few modifications in the procedures as used for the production of mung. The programme of research was done in two major components. A series of preliminary small scale experiments was conducted involving temperature measurements, microbiological testing, physical observations and evaluation of the growing environment. Similar measurements and observations were done on full scale commercial sized batches. A survey was conducted to study the sprout usage by Caucasian and South East Asian consumers. Major findings of the research showed that lupin sprouts have a better potential as a new or a complementary product rather than as a substitute to mung sprouts. It has potential in the domestic as well as the off shore market as a value added product. As a result of this research, lupin sprouts were introduced into 11 retail centres in the Perth metropolitan area. Lupin sprouts also have a cost advantage over mung primarily because of its lower seed price. Lupin offers an exciting new opportunity for the commercial producers of sprout crops.

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