Ülker and Sabancı University Join Forces for Wheat

 

Ülker, which develops projects on sustainable agriculture with a focus on wheat, hazelnuts and cocoa, has signed an important partnership with Sabancı University. In this collaboration, wheat enriched with zinc and selenium in the field was first converted into flour and then into finished product.  

 

Through the Biofortification Project conducted in the field for two years, significant increases in zinc and selenium levels in wheat grains and flour derived from them have been achieved. For example, in Ülker's production facilities, whole wheat flour obtained from enriched wheat showed a 46% increase in zinc content compared to flour from untreated wheat. Selenium, which is found at very low levels in wheat grown in Turkey, showed an 18-fold increase, reaching desired levels. Laboratory analyses performed confirmed that the mineral richness achieved in wheat grains in the field can be effectively transferred and preserved in flour and subsequently in final products.

 

Ülker produced a limited quantity of Saklıköy Field-Enriched Whole Grain, Milk Chocolate, Rice Puff, Orange and Coconut biscuits using flour obtained from wheat enriched with minerals through field applications, and presented them to consumers.

 

Ülker CEO Özgür Kölükfakı stated that wheat, which ranks first with a 39% share among the raw materials they use, holds great importance for Ülker in terms of sustainability. Kölükfakı, noting that they have adopted a comprehensive approach to wheat, continued as follows: 

 

"We focus on various topics ranging from biscuit wheat breeding to restorative agriculture aimed at improving soil health. When developing projects, we place great importance on collaborating with experts in the field and contributing to society and our stakeholders. The Biofortification Project was a valuable opportunity to draw attention to zinc and selenium minerals, which are deficient in our country and whose benefits are also mentioned in the Ministry of Health's Turkey Nutrition Guide, and to provide social benefit. Over the course of the two-year project, we enriched wheat's zinc and selenium content in the field. This wheat was converted into flour at our factory. We subsequently introduced a limited number of Saklıköy Field-Enriched Whole Grain biscuits to our consumers, thereby materializing the project from field to shelf with all its processes."

 

Kölükfakı noted that they continue to work on new wheat varieties with Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute, with which they previously implemented the Aliağa Biscuit Wheat project. He also recalled that in 2023 they produced Saklıköy Kavılca Wheat Chocolate Cream biscuit to raise awareness about Kavılca, one of Turkey's most valuable heritage wheat varieties with a 13,000-year history. 

 

Pointing out the importance of soil health conservation for Ülker, Kölükfakı continued: "Through restorative agriculture that we apply in wheat production, we prioritize indigenous farming, local development and farmer welfare. We aim to implement restorative agriculture practices on 10,000 hectares by 2030. As of 2025, we continue this work with 101 farmers." 

 

Prof.Dr. İsmail Çakmak, Project Director of the Biofortification Project and Faculty Member at Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, noted that through annual plant production, tons of micronutrients are removed from soils. Pointing out that this problem is increasingly worsening with the use of high-yield varieties in agriculture, Çakmak stated that these mineral losses appearing in soils also manifest in the food we consume, and that this plays a determining role in the emergence of hidden hunger, which is very prevalent in people today, especially in children.

 

Çakmak continued: "If the soil is poor in minerals, food is poor, and so is the human being… Starting from this point, through this collaboration developed with Ülker, we tried to find a quick and effective solution to this mineral deficiency problem. Wheat, while still in the field, was nourished through zinc and selenium applied to its leaves and subsequently carried these valuable minerals it absorbed into its grain. Thus, wheat regained the mineral richness it had gradually lost over the years. In other words, nothing different was added to it from outside; only the minerals it had lost over time were restored. The Saklıköy biscuit produced with flour from this enriched wheat will be a fine example of the 'from field to table' approach. Moreover, the Saklıköy story will serve as an example that can be adapted to many basic foods from bread to pasta, from milk to tea. In this way, both new earning opportunities will be provided to our farmers and the path will be opened for more nutritious food for our people." Çakmak also noted that the enrichment work conducted with Ülker was carried out based on knowledge and experience obtained from an international project that was conducted under Sabancı University leadership in 15 countries over 12 years.