Quinoa, RO certified
Food by nature quinoa has been produced where nature created it, on the high Altiplano plateau in Bolivia, in the Andes mountains of South America. Here, growing conditions are optimal for the quinoa, precisely because nature has created it to grow here.
The quinoa makes optimal use of the climate and the natural conditions, in the dry, cool highlands with a saline soil where not much else can thrive.
Food by nature quinoa has always been farmed by the area’s indigenous population, who have cultivated it here for the past 4000 years.
Due to the thousands of years of agricultural use and to climate changes, the soil is vulnerable in the Altiplano. Therefore, you should always please ask for ROC quinoa, as the ROC farming regenerates the natural state of the soil.
Quinoa is a brightly colored 1-2 m tall plant.
How to use:
Quinoa grains are used in the same way as rice and pasta, cold or warm.
Quinoa grains can be popped in the same way as corn.
Quinoa flakes are used either as breakfast cereals (Often roasted) and sprinkles, or for baking. When used for baking, typically 10% of the wheat flour should be replaced with quinoa flakes. This makes your bread pastry pastry feel freshly baked for longer than it does without the use of quinoa flakes. You need to add a little more liquid than usual to the dough, as the flakes absorb more liquid than wheat flour.
Fresh quinoa breads ready to eat on the plateau
The Label
Certifications and characteristics:
ROC (Regenerative & Organic Certified)
Organic (EU, USA)
Fairtrade produced
Vegan
Gluten Free
Storage: Dry. 5-30 degrees centigrade.
Ingredients: Quinoa grains
Origin:
food by nature quinoa was produced in the quinoa’s original and natural growth area, the plateau of the Andes mountains in Bolivia.
Varieties:
Quinoa grains are available in white (yellow and white shades), in red and in black variants. There is also a mixed variety called tricolore.
Quinoa is available as grains, flakes (similar to oatmeal), and as flour.
Nutrition:
kCal 349. kJ 1460
Fat 5,8 g.
Saturated fatty acids 0,7 g.
Carbohydrates 62,6 g.
Sugars 1,4 g.
Protein 14 g
Dietary fiber 7,8 g
Salt, max. 0,02 g
Child labor
Child labor generally does not occur at manufacturing plants in Bolivia. The legislation states that there must be no persons under the age of 18 on the premises of manufacturing and production plants. The production company here is located in an area where the Working Environment Authority carries out inspections at the individual company several times each year. If there is evidence of child labor, a manufacturing plant is effectively closed by cutting off the power supply to it.
At this manufacturing plant, security personnel check the national ID card (Including age) of all persons who gain access to the premises.
In addition, we or our representatives visit the company 1-2 times a year.
Nature:
food by nature quinoa is ROC, which means Regenerative and Organic Certified. Regenerative means that the cultivation helps to rebuild the natural properties of the soil instead of exhausting its fertility. This is especially important for quinoa from its native habitats, as the land has been cultivated for thousands of years and today is close to desertification, partly as a result of climate changes.
Quinoa has a unique composition of its protein content, so that the body can absorb about twice as much of the protein from quinoa as it can from, for example, wheat and rice. From 100 g of rice, the body can absorb about 5 g of protein. From 100 g of quinoa, the body can absorb about 12.5 g of protein. Therefore, quinoa is suitable for reducing meat consumption, as it provides the feeling of satiety and a large part of the protein intake that the body otherwise gets from meat.
People:
food by nature Quinoa is grown on small family farms by the area's indigenous population. It is important that the population of the outlying areas can have a livelihood so they can stay in their native areas if they so wish. Of course, it is for the sake of the peoples themselves, but it is also for the sake of the climate, as it reduces the migration effect.
Questions & Answers
Can ordinary people in Bolivia and Peru afford to buy quinoa?
Only in the rural districts in the highland. However, quinoa has never been a daily diet in Peru and Bolivia for the majority of the population.
Until the Spanish take-over of power in the mid-1500s, quinoa was reserved for nobility, clergy and the warrior caste. After the Spanish take-over, the Spanish rulers banned the use of quinoa for a centuries, as they considered quinoa to be part of the indigenous peoples’ belief and power system.
Since then, it has mainly been the rural population in the area where the quinoa is grown, who have consumed quinoa. This is still the case.
Can quinoa be toxic?
Quinoa has naturally grown in a dry and cool climate and has its own means of defense against any poison-causing fungi in this climate. When the quinoa is moved to a more humid climate, such as in northern Europe, the quinoa’s fungal defenses do not work optimally, and there have been attacks from fungi that can form toxins. As far as we are informed, there are currently no organic pesticides against these fungal attacks.
One avoids this by using quinoa produced in its natural range, which is Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador.
Do the children in the quinoa areas receive education?
Yes. There is 5 years of compulsory education in Bolivia, and this is very much observed. Schooling is free for the first 5 years. There are schools in all villages and communities down to about 20 families, which also applies in the quinoa areas.
Does child labour occur in the farming of quinoa?
In Scandinavia, until the 1960s, a typical farm was relatively small, and the family took care of the farming. In other words, the children also helped where they could and when they were not in school. This is still allowed in Scandinavia, and it is similarly allowed in Bolivia.
The farms are very small (typically 10 hectares) and, as it was previously also the case in Scandinavia, they are run by hand by the family. For spring preparation and for harvesting, machinery contractors may be used. There are no cattle farms in the quinoa areas, but a family may have a few cows, sheep, or llamas.
Why can the body absorb more protein from quinoa?
Protein is not just one substance but is made up in varying ways by a group of substances called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids in foods. Not all amino acids are present in alle types of food. The amino acids must be present in our food in special mixing proportions in order for the body to absorb the proteins that the amino acids have built up. Roughly speaking, the mixing ratio is optimal in, for example, meat, from which our body can absorb approx. 100% of the protein. From quinoa and soybeans, the body can absorb about 90% of the protein content. From wheat and rice, the body can absorb about 50% of the protein content.
The real nurdy stuff
Varieties of the quinoa plant.
The number of natural quinoa varieties is not yet known. So far, app. 1500 hundred varieties have been registered in the quinoa´s original center of growing, the Altiplano area in Bolivia and Peru.
The grains differ in color, size, nutritional content, and the content of minerals. The content of protein ranges from app. 10 to app. 20%, depending on variety.
This makes the Bolivian quinoa very different to quinoa being farmed outside Bolivia and Peru, since the farming in e.g. Northern Europe only includes a few varieties.
The Saponine
From the hands of nature, the different natural varieties of quinoa contains a substance named saponin.
Saponin is a soap-like substance with a bitter taste. It only exists in the outer layer of the quinoa grain.
The saponin layer protects the grain against insects and fungi.
In a specialized section of the process of production in Bolivia and Peru, this outer layer, amounting to 1 to 3 % of the weight of a grain, is being removed. After the removal of the outer layer, the grains are being washed in water and then dried.
With technically updated production equipment, this will remove both the saponin and the taste of the saponin. However, quinoa from production plants with older equipment may have a hint of bitterness, however this bitterness will disappear when rinsing the quinoa in cold water before use.
In Northern Europe, quinoa varieties without saponin have been developed. This saves a number of steps in the processing of the quinoa. However, since the saponin is the naturel protection against fungi, this will make the quinoa vulnerable to fungi, in particular in climates more humid than the quinoa’s original climate, which may be the case in Northern Europe. These fungi may be difficult to control with organic pesticides, and they may develop toxins.
Quinoa Flour
Quinoa flour is not commonly used in Europe. Due to its lack of gluten, it is difficult to bake bread and cakes with quinoa flour.
In Bolivia, in particular in traditional households, it is used for flat breads, pancakes, and tortillas.
The quality will vary due to the size of the grain being used for the flour, and the equipment used for grinding the grains to flour. Further, the particular variety or varieties of the quinoa may have an influence on the specific quality of the flour.
A variety of the quinoa flour is the precooked flour. It is available in white, slightly red, and grey colors. It is being used to mix with just water, or water and fruit pulp, for drinking.