WP 3: Process technologies and model foods

Innovative and sustainable processing technologies are necessary to utilize  plant resources into tasty, healthy and attractive plant-based food products with high protein content. The workpackage aims to produce protein-rich ingredients and model products based on dry fractionation combined with other processing technologies.

Objectives:

Develop technological platform for fractionation and handling of plant materials that are less energy and resource- intensive than wet fractionation to deliver new functional protein, starch and fibre ingredients suitable for healthy and consumer acceptable food products. Improve added value of raw plant material and fractions thereof, including reduction of ANF by different mechanical, thermal and biotechnological tools such as milling, extrusion, baking, fermentation and enzymatic treatments.

Key research tasks:

T3. 1 Fractionation of selected grain legumes and cereals:

Develop competence platform on DryFraTec of dried plant materials and plant side streams necessary pre-processing based on established methodology at Nofima and VTT developed in Barley Boost (EU-RSME project). Selected plant materials from WP2 and industrial partners (Felleskjøpet, Lantmannen Cerealia, Norsk Matraps) will be fractionated by using combinations of cleaning, dehulling, milling, sieving and air classification into protein, starch, lipid and fibre enriched fractions. Developed processing methodology will be tested and verified in large scale equipment at Hosokawa Alpine, Germany.

T3.2 Novel modifications for improving protein, starch and dietary fibre enriched fractions into food ingredients:

Develop methods to reduce the concentration of ANF that effect digestibility of protein and starch based on mechanical, thermal, biotechnological and chemical treatments and combinations of these. Implement extrusion technology to provide texturized proteins for ingredients in model foods. Functional properties together with acceptable shelf life, sensory quality and consumer acceptance will be the selection parameters.

T3.3 Protein, starch and dietary fibre rich fractions and their combinations into model foods:

Specific model foods such as cereal products (bread, and energy/protein bars), extruded food products (breakfast cereals, pasta, snacks) and meat analogues produced from texturized plant proteins. Furthermore, liquid foods (smoothies, beverages, yoghurt) as well as soups and base mixtures will be produced. Other available non-animal protein sources such as mushroom and macro algae and side-streams from T3.1 and WP2 as well as potato starch production are other potential ingredients alone or in combined products. The model foods will be tested for sensory and nutritional quality in collaboration with WP4 to increase knowledge and feasibility for production of new and innovative edible foods. A food science based competence platform-centred on plant constituents and products will be available for future industrial projects.