agribusinessreview.comJUN - AUG 202219The FAO began recommending DIASS in 2013 as an eventual replacement for its previous standard, PDCASS (Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score). DIASS measures require a more accurate sampling method and offer a broader range of possible scores. But that accuracy comes with some challenges."DIASS is a more representative measure of what happens in your body," Vercruysse says. DIASS measurements are taken at the ileum, the final segment of the small intestine, to see how well the amino acids present in a given protein have been digested. Ideally, those measurements are taken in a human subject.That's the method the Roquette-sponsored study used. And its results were surprising, even to those in the industry: Pea protein processed according to the NUTRALYS® method returned a DIASS of 100 percent , rated as "excellent" protein quality."When DIASS is 100 percent , it means your protein is able to meet all of the body's nutritional requirements," Vercruysse says. "Not every plant protein has results as good as this. But we now know that consumers can enjoy NUTRALYS® pea protein with no nutritional compromise."Getting the message to consumersOf course, markets don't change overnight. New standards take time to reach full adoption. And that's certainly the case with DIASS and pea protein, too."Today, most of our customers still rely on PDCASS," Vercruysse says. "It will take time, probably years, for everyone to adopt the DIASS standard. The method we used to measure it is very complex, and many are waiting for a lighter methodology to make DIASS more common."That means for today, many local regulations continue to be based on PDCASS rather than DIASS. And for today, consumers remain more likely to enquire about PDCASS than about DIASS.But DIASS will likely be the standard of tomorrow. And that means Roquette customers already have confidence in how their products will measure up."We've opened the door," Vercruysse says. "We've already demonstrated that in terms of health benefits, pea protein can be as good as whey protein. Now we've been able to demonstrate that pea protein is comparable to dairy in terms of digestibility too. Pea protein has nothing to be ashamed of."The study measuring DIASS for pea protein processed according to the NUTRALYS® process was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in October 2021. QuickbytesSource: McKinsey & CompanyIf connectivity is implemented successfully in agriculture, the industrycould tack on $500 billion in additional value to the global gross domestic product by 2030.To ask consumers to embrace variety would first require demonstrating that some plant proteins, at least, could offer everything their bodies needed
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