Protein structure-function relationships: What it means for industrial processes and applications

Abstract: Deciphering the relationship between plant protein structure and it’s performance in food applications is a challenge for both ingredient and food product manufacturers. Great progress has been made in the academic space to isolate plant proteins and their fractions and characterize both their functionality and food application performance. However, many of these isolation and characterization techniques are difficult to apply on an industrial scale where mixtures of proteins undergo several unit operations imparting shear and heat and are combined in a formula containing other ingredients. This presentation will address topics such as sustainability factors (water and electricity usage), reducing microbiological loads, and process parameter control which all introduce challenges to producing protein ingredients on a commercial scale. Additionally characterization methods and their relevance to concentrated food systems will be addressed. The aim of the talk will be to spark discussion around how to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial applicability to provide the next generation of plant based protein ingredients and products.