Track III: Optimizing Protein Production
- Oxidation is Destroying Plant Protein Quality: This is How to Prevent It - Amadou Sidibé, IMPROVE
Managing oxidation is crucial for maintaining the sensorial, nutritional quality and functionality of protein ingredients in food applications. Plants and single-cell organisms are complex matrices made up of numerous macromolecules and secondary metabolites. The presentation describes how during proteins processing (fractionation, extraction, purification) the oxidation of protein and non-protein components can affect the quality of the final ingredients. Direct and indirect methods have been developed to overcome oxidation challenges, giving access to new opportunities for developing ingredients from new raw materials.
- Panel: The Future of Fermentation: Synergies, Innovations, and Next-Gen Protein Production - Dr. Karen Polizzi, Imperial College London, Dr. Julia Keppler, WUR & Marcel Wubbolts, Vivici
This panel will discuss:
1. Beyond the Basics: What’s Next for Fermentation in Protein Production?
Panelists will explore the latest advancements and breakthroughs within their respective fermentation fields.
2. Hybrid Fermentation: Unlocking New Functionalities
How can different fermentation approaches be combined to enhance taste, texture, and nutrition? Are hybrid techniques—such as integrating precision-fermented fats into biomass-fermented proteins— the key to next-gen product development?
3. Scaling Fermentation for Mainstream Adoption: Overcoming Cost & Manufacturing Barriers
What technological advancements and bioprocessing efficiencies are needed to bring fermentation-derived proteins to cost parity with conventional proteins?
- The FLAVOURAI Approach – Accelerating Plant-Based Product Innovation Through Fermentation and AI - Martijn Bekker, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research
In this presentation we will showcase how fermentation technology can tackle key challenges in plant-based product development—with a focus on off-notes and poor flavor volatile profiles. We explored classical fermentation’s potential to enhance flavor and introduced our high-throughput platform combining NIR, mass spectrometry, and AI. This platform enables smart screening of 500+ microbes to build the first fermented flavor database. Using a t-SNE approach, we can cluster fermentations by sensory profile (e.g., dairy, meat). These insights support more efficient, reproducible upscaling from lab to pilot plant. Our work paves the way for more cost-effective, flavorful, and sustainable plant-based foods.
