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Flavour & Texture

A consortium comprising research organizations and companies from across the food production chain aims to understand and resolve flavour and texture issues related to plant-based foods. The results from this consortium will improve the eating experience for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives. The Protein Transition in Food professorship is working on this project on behalf of HAS green academy.

Flavour texture

The protein transition is picking up speed with more and more plant-based products hitting the shelves. Moreover, the range of plant protein ingredients for these products is rapidly diversifying, as a growing range of products based on legumes sources such as yellow pea and faba (fava) bean are joining the now well-established soy-based meat and dairy alternatives.

Developing and testing mitigation strategies

However, plant-based products have sensory challenges such as bitterness, beany flavours or low juiciness. The Flavour and Texture consortium brings together a wide range of industry expertise to explore the origin of these sensory concerns in meat and dairy alternatives, and to develop techniques to mitigate them.

The consortium is currently developing and testing different mitigation strategies that could be applied during the production of end products. These potential solutions may involve ingredient pre-processing, carefully tailored processing conditions, and masking strategies in various combinations.

Expertise from across the food production chain

The Flavour and Texture consortium brings together expertise from across the food production chain. It includes commercial and academic research organizations as well as companies ranging from ingredient suppliers to food product brands: Biospringer by Lesaffre, Brabender, Bunge, Danone, Edlong Flavors, Ebro Ingredients, HAS Green Academy, Ruitenberg Ingredients, and NIZO (coordinator).

The 'Flavour & Texture'project receives financial contribution from the Topsector Agri & Food. Within the Topsector industry, knowledge institutions and government collaborate on innovations for safe and healthy food for 9 billion people in a resilient world.

Source: NIZO

More information Protein Transition in Food research group

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