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NIZO’s Industry Insights: A Perfect Blend of Plant and Dairy for ‘Hybrid’ Foods

NIZO's Industry Insights: A Perfect Blend of Plant and Dairy for 'Hybrid' Foods dairy, food, hybrid, plant-based Food and Beverage Business

As the protein transition gains momentum, the food and dairy industries are presented with new opportunities. While there is a focus on developing vegan alternatives, manufacturers are also exploring the potential of ‘blended’ or ‘hybrid’ products that combine the benefits of animal-based and plant-based ingredients. However, to fully optimize the advantages, a more holistic approach to development is necessary, according to NIZO’s Wim Engels, Senior Project Manager Fermentation, and Jolanda Lambert, Senior Project Manager Microbiology.

René Floris, in an interview with Engels, asks about the definition of ‘hybrid’ foods or food ‘blends.’ Engels explains that these products incorporate both animal and alternative, non-animal components such as protein, fat, and carbohydrate. Hybrid foods specifically cater to consumers interested in reducing their meat or dairy intake and replacing it with alternatives while still desiring products that resemble animal-based originals. Achieving this similarity in taste, texture, and essential amino acid profiles can be challenging with 100% plant-based ingredients.

Engels highlights the advantages of hybrid products, stating that they address the challenges associated with purely animal-based or alternative products, allowing manufacturers to offer the best of both worlds and tap into new markets. Plant proteins, for instance, have less solubility compared to dairy proteins, resulting in gritty textures in dairy alternatives. By blending animal-based components, manufacturers can achieve desired tastes, textures, and high-quality digestible protein. Additionally, hybrid products enable manufacturers to make animal-based ingredients more sustainable and extend their reach to customers interested in a more environmentally-friendly diet.

Engels discusses the challenges of developing hybrid products, such as the off-flavors associated with plant proteins and the textural differences between plant and dairy proteins. Combining these components does not eliminate the negative plant flavors or textures. Hence, a holistic approach is crucial for addressing these challenges and achieving the desired sensory experience.

Engels also emphasizes that food safety is a significant challenge in hybrid foods. In addition to individual food safety concerns related to animal and plant ingredients, the combination of these ingredients can impact manufacturing processes and introduce microbial contaminants. Understanding food safety risks in plant ingredients is especially important due to their wide range of contaminating microorganisms and the presence of toxin-producing bacteria spores that may survive the manufacturing process and spoil the product later.

To overcome the challenges of developing hybrid plant-animal foods, Engels suggests using processing, preparation, and product design to unlock their potential. A holistic development process that brings together plant and animal components early on is essential. Ingredient combinations should be carefully selected, and processing conditions may need modification. Engels also highlights the role of fermentation in improving flavor and safety. Fermentation of hybrid dairy products, for instance, can enhance flavors. A scientific and multidisciplinary approach is vital to optimize the benefits and sensory experience.

When asked about the differences in fermentation between hybrid and 100% dairy or plant products, Engels explains that there is no fundamental difference, but knowledge about fermenting plant-based components is still evolving. The choice of sugars and amino acids is crucial to create desired flavors in plant-based yoghurt alternatives. Bacterial strains can be selected based on the desired product characteristics. Engels also mentions the possibility of utilizing bio-purification to eliminate fermented flavors and achieve a neutral taste and smell.

Lambert shares that NIZO has conducted a proof of principle study on hybrid drinkable yoghurt, showing positive results in terms of acidification, bacterial growth, and reduction of plant off-flavors through fermentation. She believes fermentation will address many challenges in hybrid foods, but further research is needed. NIZO will generate data during model hybrid cheese fermentation trials as part of the EU-funded E-MUSE project, which focuses on investigating complex microbial ecosystems in fermented food products.

In conclusion, Engels believes the future of hybrid foods extends beyond combining dairy or meat components with plant components. The portfolio of protein ingredients can include eggs, insects, lab-grown animal-free proteins, and precision fermentation proteins, offering exciting possibilities for manufacturers to increase sustainability while maintaining nutritional value and cost-efficiency. Hybrid foods can also involve more than two types of components, providing endless possibilities.

NIZO’s next article will examine protein technology.

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