In a societal context where sustainability, nutritional quality and the naturalness of food are becoming increasingly important, mild processing methods are attracting growing interest. These approaches aim to preserve the sensory, nutritional and functional qualities of food as much as possible, whilst ensuring its safety and nutritional quality. However, processors are not necessarily familiar with these techniques. This document provides guidelines on several mild processing techniques applied to Neglected and Underutilised Crops (NUCs), namely minor cereals and legumes, developed as part of the DIVINFOOD project. It aims to facilitate the implementation or optimisation of these still little-known techniques with a view to more sustainable food systems that prioritise health and the environment, in line with the principles of agroecology. This document is intended for stakeholders likely to be interested in developing such processes as part of their activities: farmers, processors, artisans, restaurant chefs (in the private or public sector), etc. The detailed examples provided relate to sprouting, fermentation and stone-milling of cereals and/or legumes. Good practices are highlighted for each technique, including those relating to the management and control of safety risks. A summary of the benefits and key points to watch regarding the mild processing techniques is provided at the end of the document.
Krier et al. (Sat,) studied this question.