Even if they are in demand on the world market, the gluten-free products are not very popular with Moldovans. The lack of information about their benefits is one of the reasons for such a situation. Irina Balica, who developed a gluten-free products business, has told IPN that she chose sorghum as the primary product. The plant was obtained by crossing two crops by academician Gheorghe Moraru 50 years ago. This plant is resistant to drought and is not sensitive and yields 5 tonnes per hectare. It is a plant of the future.

Irina Balica said she started the business five years ago and developed a line for processing and packing products from sorghum, which are sold through a Chisinau supermarket chain. Last November, she obtained a grant from the Moldova Business People Association. A part of the money was invested in exporting, while the other part in production. The Moldovan sorghum was exported to an Italian pasta producer.

The Moldovan gluten-free products cost much less than the similar imported products. The yield is used to make four derivatives: grain grits, fine grits, semolina and flour. All the products were accredited and are sold under the brand BioEm. The products are recommended to children under five and women older than 50, who are gluten intolerant.

“The demand for gluten-free products on the domestic market is not very great because the people are not very informed about the impact of gluten and even the doctors can detect late the celiac disease, which is gluten intolerance. This aspect is ignored, but I think it will be addressed in the future by informing the people about the noxious effect of gluten consumption,” stated the entrepreneur.

Sorghum can be used not only as a gluten-free product, but also as an analog of buckwheat as it is rich in proteins and contains all types of vitamin B. This helps reduce the level of cholesterol in blood. Irina Balica said she is making effort to promote the consumption of gluten-free products in schools and kindergartens, given that these are recommended to children, but she meets with resistance.

The entrepreneur said over 50% of their production is exported to Romania, where the consumers are better informed and where the number of children with gluten intolerance is yet higher.