The Oat Grain Quality Consortium (OGQC) is a collaborative Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) investment aimed at addressing the crucial need for innovation in oat quality research, informing oat quality classification and market positioning.

This research initiative will see more than $12.5 million invested in oats over 5 years – $5.75 million from GRDC complemented by $6.7 million from research and industry partners. Led by InterGrain and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI: the research division of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA), the consortium will bring together a diverse group of organisations spanning the research, production, processing, and food and beverage manufacturing sectors.

Learn more about the OGQC here

InterGrain lead projects

Program 1: Accelerating the development of an accurate and cost-effective high-throughput measurement method for key oat quality characteristics.

Led by research partner InterGrain and co-funded by the WA State Government Processed Oat Partnership program (www.giwa.org.au/pop).

This program will spearhead efforts to accelerate the breeding of high-quality oats through improved phenotyping capacity. Program 1 aims to develop an accurate, rapid and cost-effective method for measuring oat quality characteristics such as beta-glucan, protein and oil content to accelerate the breeding process and ensure faster access to superior oat varieties.

Program 2: Discovery of desirable aroma, flavour and texture compounds for oat food/beverage applications.

Led by research partner InterGrain in collaboration with Curtin University, Murdoch University, Edith Cowan University, Agriculture Victoria, Shaanxi Normal University, plus industry partners Unigrain, Wide Open Agriculture, Fancy Plants, Oatly, Sanitarium, Uncle Toby’s, Blue Lake Milling, Quaker, Noumi, Seamild and Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC).

This program aims to help differentiate Australian oats in the market by providing breeders with actionable information on the genetic variation of ‘taste’ compounds, and support breeding efforts to enhance the sensory appeal of Australian oats for existing and new oat products. It will also provide industry and researchers with insights into desirable aroma, flavour and texture compounds for oats.

InsideOats serves as a newsletter and forum, providing regular updates from InterGrain on Program 2 of the Oat Grain Quality Consortium (OGQC).

To join the mailing list for the InsideOats newsletter, please email Cereal Chemist Dr Haelee Fenton – hfenton@intergrain.com

Current Research projects

Four Master of Science, Food Science and Technology, students from Curtin University have started their research projects which will be investigating the sensory properties of different oat varieties when processed and transformed into food and beverage products; including Chinese steamed bread and oat milk.

Student Research Projects

PROJECT 1
Sakerun Nahar and Srijana Shrestha are investigating lab scale processing of oat milk, using an optimised method, with different Australian oat cultivars.

PROJECT 2
Annagrace Mavely and Bhagya Mudalige are investigating the sensory properties of Chinese steamed bread made with oat flour from different cultivars.

Left to Right: Dr Haelee Fenton (InterGrain); MSc. students: Bhagya Mudalige; Srijana Shrestha; Sakerun Nahar; Annagrace Mavely; and Curtin University Lecturer Simon Warwick.