Durum Industry Struggles with Low Carb Craze

By Tracy Sayler

North Dakota grew an excellent quality durum crop this year to make excellent quality pasta. Now it’s a matter of convincing consumers to eat it.

The low carb craze was a key issue on the minds of durum industry leaders at the International Durum Forum held recently in Minot, N.D., sponsored by the U.S. Durum Growers Association.

“All the issues we have been dealing with over the last few years, where (we would jokingly refer to this as) the ‘Scab Forum,’ it kind of went away in one year” says Tim Dodd, CEO of Dakota Growers Pasta, Carrington, N.D.  “Color, everything is over 90%  Test weights are unbelievable, some are coming in at 64 lbs. It has been an exceptionally good crop this year.  We are looking forward to the entire crop year producing one of the finest quality pastas in the world.”

Dodd hopes the good production experience will carry over to ample acres of durum wheat grown in N.D. in 2004.  In addition to a higher loan rate, he hopes that the milling durum endorsement crop insurance program will give growers more confidence in growing durum wheat.  The provision gives durum growers better quality coverage under federal crop insurance (consult with your local crop insurance agent for details).

Separately, Dodd says the durum industry is finally coming to grips with the Atkins diet; a wildfire that the industry was hoping would be contained, but has been spreading instead.

“This train has been coming down the tracks for a few years. It might be too close; we might not have time to counter everyone’s acceptance of these diets. Let’s face it, everyone knows someone who has been on the Atkin’s diet.  We can say it doesn’t work; we can talk negative about it all we want. What are we going to do about it?”

One way might not be to fight the fad, Dodd says, but join it.

“There are low carb pastas on the market.  Some of the people here on the panel today are making low carb pasta products.  The grocery stores are now talking about setting up low carb isles. It is a phenomenon just like low fat was. If we are not in those isles with a low carb product, we will be in trouble. Just the other day, I read where pasta is 4% down in consumption.  That is 150 million pounds of lost consumption of pasta. That is about the plant size of Carrington.”

Dodd says dozens of new low carb products are coming onto the market, made in some cases with soy protein isolates, that may not improve taste or quality, and may even raise product price. Nevertheless, the industry will need to think outside the box.

“We have to figure it out, like the beer guys. Ultra Light Beer, that is the hottest product in 2003. Low carb beer, it is almost like an oxy moron. Sales are already $150 million a year. Actually, the carbs in that beer is not much lower than some Miller Lite beers.  But they came out and convinced that consumer.”

In the case of pasta, the challenge is to come out with products that the consumer will accept. 

“It has to be priced right, pasta has to taste good, be like traditional pasta,” says Dodd. “One thing we have found out from our consumer focus groups is that people don’t want to give up taste or texture, cooking quality in their pasta. They want it to be exactly like they are used to get it, but now they want it to be low carb.  Our challenge is to find pasta that is like traditional pasta, say with 75% less carbs and even half the calories. If we had something like that, I know we could actually kick start our growth again.” 

Luke Marano, who owns Philadelphia Macaroni Company, with a presence in Grand Forks as Conte Luna Foods and in Minot with a milling operation, says he is confident that the public (including millions of noodle-craving children) will not completely turn its back on pasta.

“It is a good food, it is a tasty food, and it is like candy, you are still going to go back to it sometime or another. It is going to take time for all these different diets to go though,” Marano says.  “I think eventually pasta will come back because it is really a fun, good food. When people ask what I do and I tell them I make pasta, they smile. It is fun.  I think pasta is good for you and will come back.”

Dave Potter, executive vice president of American Italian Pasta Company, says that consumer education needs to continue as part of the solution, using nutrition and dietary research in the process to point out that there are good carbs and bad carbs, just like there are good fats and bad fats. “It is a lot better to eat pasta than that Krispy Kreme donut,” he says. 

Turning attention to production, Potter says the durum industry as a whole needs to do a better job of doing more direct contracting, whether it is through Identity-Preserved programs or contracts coordinated with crop insurance. “I think that is the right direction for the future for helping you guys manage your risk.” 

About half the wheat grown in AZ is exported under an IP basis, says Eric Wilkey, AZ Grain, Inc., which merchandises feed grains into Arizona feed markets and IP desert durum into domestic and export markets.  

“Is durum wheat always going to be an IP market for everybody? Absolutely not.  But…you guys grow some excellent durum up here. The question is, do you let all those good characteristics get co-mingled in a blending opportunity at the export level and give up what your advantages are?”

It is very difficult for a farmer to grow an IP variety on his farm, then go all the way to the end user without commercial partners, says Wilkey. “I think organic wheats are trying to attack that problem and are taking steps in the right direction. You need to look at that in all of your varieties. Which ones have the traits that you need? How do you put in an IP program? Who are your partners? And how do you bring that all the way from the farm to the end users?”

An industry panel addressed the low carb craze and other durum issues at the International Durum Forum held recently in Minot, N.D. (Photo: Dawn Watson)