Shifting to sustainable food production and a circular food economy is seen as key to cutting carbon emissions and feeding a growing global population. In response, scientists are developing new protein sources and exploring ways to turn food byproducts into valuable resources.
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It’s important that these more sustainable foods meet consumer expectations for taste and texture. Extrusion technology is regarded as one of the most promising platforms for creating sustainable food products. It is widely considered to be an energy-saving and environmentally benign continuous manufacturing technique.
In addition, extrusion has a wide range of customizable process parameters, providing tremendous flexibility in the development of many different types of goods.1
Rheological characterization is used to optimize the mechanical characteristics or sensory perceptions of sustainable food products to achieve high customer taste or texture expectations while also simulating processing circumstances.
Rheometers offer remarkable versatility, with a range of specialized measurement cells for tribology, texture, and interfacial analysis. When combined with optical techniques, they allow for detailed and comprehensive product characterization.
Nowadays, the development of sustainable food items includes both food and biodegradable packaging. The following contains chosen application notes and videos from Thermo Fisher Scientific scientists on various topics, including food and packaging.
With decades of application experience, global demonstration labs, and experts from many fields such as food extrusion, rheology, and electron microscopy, Thermo Fisher can help manufacturers achieve their individual sustainable food application goals.
Talk to Thermo Fisher specialists today to find out what choices are available to help you progress in this fascinating field.
Create a Wide-Range of Meat-Like Textures That Consumers Will Enjoy: Twin-Screw Extrusion of Plant-Based Meat
Twin-screw extrusion processing is regarded as a significant technique for the continuous manufacture of plant-based meat products. This method's primary purpose is to add a fibrous, muscular, meat-like feel to plant protein-based compositions.
This method can produce two types of products: High Moisture Meat Analogue (HMMA) and texturized vegetable protein. This application overview presents real-world extrusion setups used in the production of both HMMA and texturized proteins.
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Flash Talk on Extrusion of Plant-Based Meat: Advantages of Small-Scale Twin-Screw Extrusion for Product Development and Material Testing
What you will learn in this talk:
- Twin-screw compounders offer a flexible method for developing plant-based proteins.
- Modular die design allows for a variety of textures.
- Workflow for characterization of plant-based meats.
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Scaffolding and Formulation Development of Cultivated Meat: Revolutionizing Meat Production with Extrusion Technology
Cultivated meat, which is grown from animal cells in a controlled environment, provides a sustainable and ethical alternative to traditional meat while minimizing environmental impact and improving animal welfare.
Extrusion technology can be used to develop scaffolding for muscle cell growth or to combine grown meat cells with plant-based proteins. It allows for scalable, efficient production, lowering costs and providing meat with a flavor and texture like traditional meats.
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Analysis of Meat and Alternative Meat Products: Create the Right Texture and Taste
Analysis methodologies are critical for creating next-generation plant-based meat products with the best texture and flavor. To match consumer expectations, these products must emulate muscle fiber texture as well as the taste, aroma, and juiciness of real meat.
Extrusion imparts an anisotropic, fibrous, and gel-like structure to plant proteins, producing plant-based products with a texture similar to muscular meat. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is an excellent way to determine the structure of plant-based meats by viewing and evaluating these critical properties.
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A key technological challenge in developing meat alternatives is replicating the taste, texture, juiciness, and overall sensory experience of animal-based products. Lipids play a vital role in meat quality, particularly in delivering the juiciness consumers expect. As a result, incorporating lipids into meat analogues is essential. In this context, tribology offers a valuable tool for assessing mouthfeel and other sensory properties.
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What do You do With Nutrient-Rich Food Waste? Upcycling of Food Side Streams
While high in nutrients, food side streams have weak techno-functional qualities, limiting their utility in food applications.
For example, apple pomace, the primary byproduct of the juice business, is rarely used for pectin extraction or animal feed. Most of it is wasted because of its low solubility, preventing it from being used as a culinary ingredient.
This application note demonstrates the functionalization of apple pomace from commercial fruit juice production using twin-screw granulation.
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Is it Cheese? Rheology and Texture of Cheese and a Vegan Cheese Analogue
Texture is a key aspect of a cheese's qualities. Depending on the cheese and its age, it can range from creamy to solid. Rheological measurements can be used to determine the viscoelastic properties of cheese and its composition.
It's also possible to perform texture analysis tests using a modern rheometer. With cheese, it might be used to determine its bite or texture. This application note describes how to measure with a rheometer, and the results of several rheological tests, as well as a penetration test on milk-based cheese and a vegan cheese alternative.
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Development of Biodegradable Packaging Materials: Case Studies of Packaging Made from Alginate or Pectin
Repurposing food byproducts is a key strategy in the circular economy. This video demonstrates a small-scale extrusion setup that transforms fruit pectin into biodegradable packaging film.
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Alginate films are often created using time-consuming casting processes. Twin-screw extrusion is speedier, more modular, and more adaptable. This note describes how to build a hot-melt extrusion technique for biodegradable alginate films using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder.
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Food and Beverage Resources
Application Laboratories
Thermo Fisher’s advanced application laboratories are constantly in use, supporting customer sample analysis and the development and optimization of innovative applications.
Thermo Fisher offers a diverse range of product and application solutions, and its team of application scientists and multidisciplinary technique specialists is available to answer your questions.
Register for application and product information at thermofisher.com/specoptin to obtain access to the most up-to-date tools for accelerating research and increasing laboratory productivity.
Seminars and Trainings
Comprehensive training programs, in-house seminars, and practical rheology and extrusion courses are available worldwide.
Thermo Fisher provides its customers with complete on-demand training (webinars, videos, and application notes) from its specialists, leveraging its interdisciplinary expertise in food science and technology.
Innovation Begins with Knowledge
Visit Thermo Fisher’s food extrusion publications for more information on food innovation. These studies focus on extrusion technology applications in cereals, snacks, alternative proteins, and biodegradable films.
Thermo Scientific equipment was employed in this study to improve the possibilities of extrusion technology for generating novel foods.
Reference
- Lazou, A.E. (2022). Food extrusion: An advanced process for innovation and novel product development. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, pp.1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2143474.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Thermo Fisher Scientific – Production Process & Analytics.
For more information on this source, please visit Thermo Fisher Scientific – Production Process & Analytics.