Today, Motif FoodWorks announced its partnership with fat science expert Prof Alejandro Marangoni and the University of Guelph, Canada, to address taste, texture and appearance challenges in the plant-based food sector.
Through this collaboration, the team will explore three emerging fat technologies with the potential to upend traditional approaches to formulating lipid and fibre in plant-based foods.
Their work aims to improve understanding of how to properly structure fat in plant-based meat and dairy products, like sausages, burgers and cheese.
Over the next year, Motif will focus on three areas, including: The replacement of saturated fat with an animal-free emulsion system that exhibits the physical properties of saturated fat at room temperature; replicating critical animal fat structures, such as the pockets of fat in meat products that produce marbling; and improving the texture of plant-based cheeses, to be more meltable and elastic.
The effort will be led by Motif’s Stefan Baier (head of food science) and Dilek Uzunalioglu (head of applications) who will evaluate the performance of these technologies across various food forms.
“Creating the right kind of fat structures in plant-based foods is one of the most significant — and exciting — challenges in the category because fat plays such a critical role in what makes some of our favorite food experiences so satisfying,” said Mike Leonard, CTO at Motif.
“In our work with Marangoni and the University of Guelph, we will evaluate technologies with the potential to serve as critical new building blocks in plant-based food design.”
“Understanding how to properly structure fat in plant-based food is mission-critical for the food industry,” said Marangoni, a Tier I Canada Research Chair in food, health and ageing at the University of Guelph.
“We are excited to work alongside Motif to determine how some of the newest and most exciting technologies will work in new food products to improve the sensory experience of plant-based meat and dairy on a broader scale.”
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