Australian scientists have developed a new barley variety that can be used to produce gluten-free beer, a breakthrough for global beer manufacturer which have had to use alternatives to barley such as rice and sorghum.

This is especially good news for people with coeliac disease who could soon enjoy a greater variety of foods and beverages thanks to work by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) scientists.

The world’s first gluten-free barley beer will appear in German supermarkets today, with the hope for more products to follow in other markets around the world.

“Using conventional breeding we’ve reduced the gluten levels to 10,000 times less than regular barley which more than meets the World Health Organization’s recommendation for calling a grain gluten-free,” says CSIRO Principal Research Scientist Dr Crispin Howitt.

“It’s really exciting seeing the first product made with the malted version of our Kebari grain, we hope it’s the first of many products,” he said.

“We’re also working on a hulless version of Kebari which is preferable for use in a range of foods like breakfast cereals, soup, even pasta and flatbreads, which will be the first part of the next generation of gluten free products helping people with coeliac disease to increase fibre, promote bowel health and enhance nutrition in their diet.”

Dr Howitt added that CSIRO is working on a hull-less version of Kebari for use in a range of food including breakfast cereals, soup, pasta and flatbreads, the next generation of gluten free products.

The CSIRO spent 14 years developing the ‘Kebari’ barley variety, which meets World Health Organisation standards of ‘gluten-free’ but not Australia’s or New Zealand’s, under the current Food Standards Code.

– with other agencies