NPD derived from plants? Avoid rushing anything.
The plant-based surge is definitely here to stay, having solidified as more than simply a fad. In fact, The Vegan Society projects that the worldwide market for plant-based foods will grow to $74.2 billion by 2027.1.
Thus, the time has come to create goods for this expanding market base. Formulating products that can impart a similar taste and feel is often necessary when developing plant-based alternatives to animal-based foods. One of the quickly-emerging plant protein constituents with these desirable features is faba bean protein.
When creating a product that appeals to consumers and they will enjoy, functionality, taste, and color are all important considerations. This article outlines the crucial functionality and safety concerns to take into account before starting your NPD journey with a new ingredient.
Why is taking safety into account important?
Novel ways to produce goods having qualities associated with meat, dairy, or egg products are being driven by the utilization of plant proteins in analogue products. These procedures include, among others, homogenization, tissue disruption, extrusion, shearing, and fermentation. On the other hand, nothing is known about the makeup and interactions of the microflora of recently investigated plant proteins during processing and product life. Thus, using the previously specified production procedures may provide some difficulties. This emphasizes how crucial it is to take safety into account while creating these items.
For instance, it is important to take into account how cross-feeding during the fermentation of products containing plant proteins may result in the formation of unknown microbial community dynamics. Plant proteins will be cross-fed to introduce microflora and any resulting secondary metabolites.
In order to attain the correct texture, color, and flavor, plant-based alternatives to animal-based goods may also need different ingredients. These variations may affect the final product’s microbial growth and survival.
Which safety considerations need to be made?
The structural differences between plant-based and animal-based proteins lead to differences in heat transport and cooling properties. Process validation is crucial to confirm that the microbial load has been reduced to an appropriate level or to control or slow the growth of harmful and spoiling microorganisms.
Additional concerns are to possible variations in the organisms found in different batches, which may be impacted by factors such as weather, origin region, harvest season, and ingredient preparation processes. There are difficulties because plant proteins vary in their nutritional makeup and microbial burden. Thus, infections and their ability to proliferate in the finished product should be taken into account in risk evaluations. In order to reduce the risk to safety, a thorough description of the plant protein constituents must be provided in the assessments.
Plants may come into touch with pathogens through their leaves and surfaces as they grow by coming into contact with animals, insects, and dirt. Spore formers are a major source of contamination and have been reported to be present in soil and the surrounding environment. Certain species, including B. cereus, have the ability to create poisons if they survive and proliferate in the final product or its intermediates. Spore formers are also more resistant to heat treatments. Other Bacillus species cause product spoiling, which can alter the finished product’s appearance or even result in the creation of off odors.
Case study: Upfield Research & Development BV – plant protein batch diversity
We conducted sophisticated microbial profiling investigations employing sequence-based identification of various batches of a plant-based component (50–60 percent protein) in an attempt to determine batch-to-batch variability. A method independent of culture that can be used to determine the microbial population present in an ingredient is called microbial profiling. By identifying the organisms in a sample, this method lessens the bias associated with growing picky microorganisms.
Microorganisms that are present in a concentrated faba bean solution and have the ability to develop under the following circumstances were isolated and identified:
What was the outcome?
The post-pasteurization faba bean solution kept in holding tanks at 60°C
the finished product over the period of its availability.
In order to isolate viable organisms that could be recognized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis, this microbiological analysis was done both before and after pasteurization.
How did Upfield benefit from this?
Through our investigation into the microorganisms present in faba bean protein and identification of possible safety and quality concerns, we have assisted Upfield in:
verify that the faba bean ingredient standards must be sturdy.
Create process mitigation plans by modifying the circumstances of processing and storage.
Consequently, this study helped Upfield, while employing this plant-based protein ingredient, to guarantee product safety and minimize potential spoiling problems over product shelf life. Through the study, the microflora of this item was better understood, and the appropriate storage temperature could be verified in order to minimize growth while the ingredient was being stored in the holding tank. It also made it possible for Upfield to specify requirements for its plant-based ingredients, i.e., to modify/customize the specifics of the production process in order to minimize growth until the product is packaged.
Which kinds of functional problems are unique to substances derived from plants?
Dairy and egg proteins are both multifunctional. These components provide a variety of benefits from a single source, including foaming, emulsifying, and gelling. The solubility of the ingredients plays a major role in functionality. Plant proteins have a very limited purpose overall since they are far less soluble than those found in eggs and dairy. Although the functions of many plant proteins vary, no one plant protein can fulfill the variety of functions provided by egg or milk. This implies that a comprehensive evaluation of different plant-based components will be necessary for each product category that needs to replace egg or dairy protein in order to fit the intended function that needs to be replaced. Furthermore, this is not an easy task. It can be challenging to replace the egg’s gelling qualities, for instance. Certain proteins are needed for the gelling property because they must denature at higher temperatures and then coagulate and adhere to one another. This is an innate feature of the protein that is difficult to modify. Dairy protein follows the same rules.
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What steps can food companies take to prevent these problems with their plant-based products?
It’s important to comprehend how each element works and how it interacts with the others. It’s also critical that they determine whether any chemical they find as a possible alternative works. Combined, this will enable them to modify the recipe or procedure as needed.When adding plant-based elements to a formulation, what other concerns need to be taken into consideration?
When employed in product applications, egg and dairy ingredients provide a pleasing white color and flavor that is either neutral or dairy-like. Plant proteins usually have color delivery varying from off-white to dark brown and even grey, and cereal, pulses, or oil seed (off-) flavors that become significantly prominent in dairy-like food formulations. Plants naturally include both off-color and off-flavour components, which must be taken into consideration when using them in finished product applications.