Dansk BælgBoost: Project to boost Danes’ appetite for pulses

 In Danish

_{Photo: SEGES Innovation}

Funded by the Plant Foundation
Project Period: September 2025 – September 2028

The aim of the project is to make Danish lentils, among other pulses, an inspiring and natural part of canteen and everyday meals, and to reduce imports from abroad.

Currently, Danes consume on average only 10 grams of pulses per day, even though the official dietary guidelines recommend 100 grams for both health and climate benefits.

This is why the Dansk BælgBoost project is working to promote home-grown lentils, peas, and beans within the food sector and in public kitchens, while also focusing on ensuring that Danish farmers can improve the profitability of growing pulses.

"As it stands, it is difficult to achieve a high yield of, for example, lentils in the field, and today large amounts of the raw produce are lost during sorting. This makes it challenging for Danish farmers," says Eva-Marie Lange, Section Manager at the Danish Technological Institute, and continues:

"Dansk BælgBoost is a truly exciting project which can help highlight the importance of post-harvest handling, allowing more farmers in Denmark to benefit economically from producing lentils."

From Harvest to High Quality

The Danish Technological Institute is, of course, helping to secure results. Our role in the project is to work on processes from harvest right through to high quality.

• Investigating and optimising cleaning methods to reduce waste and improve quality
• Analysing the shape, colour, size distribution, and occurrence of defective lentils and impurities, using, among other things, videometer technology
• Collaboration on optimising sorting processes and testing different sorting qualities so that even more crops can be used in professional kitchens
• Comparison with imported pulses, paving the way for more Danish alternatives

Our experience and documentation will be compiled into practical guidelines and material for the sector. The project will culminate, among other things, with trials of solutions at the DGI National Sports Festival (Landsstævnet).

Project Partners

The project is led by SEGES Innovation and includes the following partners:

• Danish Technological Institute
• Sønderborg Kommune
• Vejen Kommune
• Kolding Kommune
• Aarhus Universitetshospital
• Gl. Buurholt
• Edgy Foods
• University of Southern Denmark
• Innovationscenter for Økologisk Landbrug
• Food Bornholm