Plant-based and climate-friendly nutrition are currently the top trends in nutrition and the global plant-based food market is expected to have at least doubled by 2030.
Within this market, research of new sources of protein, development of advanced ingredients, and production of new flavorsome and nutritious plant-based products run at full speed.
Protein's rapid and reliable determination is fundamental to each stage of the plant-based nutrition supply chain as new farming and production processes arise, such as breeding new crops, optimizing organoleptic properties, new techniques for texturizing and structuring, and developing new categories of products.
Determining the total protein content according to international labeling laws is critical for quality control and protein declaration in the food industry. Protein content is associated with certain product properties, texturing, and functionality, and as a result, may be a key aspect of product quality and price.
Figure 1. Protein analysis along the plant-based nutrition supply chain. Image Credit: Elementar Americas Inc.
Highly precise, matrix-independent analyses of samples from different sources with various protein concentrations, liquid and solid, are necessary for the analysis of plant-based food.
The food technology industry is developing product innovations with highly automated and digital processes and seeking solutions fitting into its digital environment.
Image Credit: Elementar Americas Inc.
Elementar’s rapid MAX N exceed is a flexible and highly automated solution for determining protein content in plant-based food.
The analytical performance of the rapid MAX N exceed delivers excellent results at each step of the supply chain of plant-based protein, including analyzing plants over new food-tech ingredients and quality control of end consumer products.
The measurement results demonstrate the wide applicability of the instrument by the low RSD of various alternative protein products with different protein sources and sample sizes.
The Dumas combustion method of Elementar’s N/protein analyzers delivers low operating costs, high throughput, ease of use, and being environmentally friendly.
For smaller budgets, the rapid N exceed® is the perfect solution for start-ups and young companies in the emerging plant-based food industry.
Download the Application Note for more information and analysis data on real samples, including protein powder from soy, pea, hemp, and rice; oat milk; and cheese, sausage, and meat analogues.
Image Credit: Elementar Americas Inc.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Elementar Americas Inc.
For more information on this source, please visit Elementar Americas Inc.