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** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** FIBROUS PLANT PROTEIN STRUCTURES PRODUCED BY THERMOMECHANICAL EXTRUSION PROCESSING ARE INCREASINGLY BEING USED TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE MEAT ALTERNATIVES, BUT THE PRODUCTS OBTAINED LACK THE TENDERNESS AND TEXTURAL DIVERSITY OF REAL FIBROUS MUSCLE TISSUE PROTEINS. CURRENT EXTRUSION APPROACHES PRODUCE FIBROUS PROTEIN STRUCTURES THAT HAVE QUITE DIFFERENT SIZE DIMENSIONS COMPARED TO REAL MUSCLE FIBERS, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE MUCH LARGER DIAMETERS (A FEW ΜM VS. SEVERAL 100 ΜM). THIS RESULTS IN A CHEWIER PRODUCT, WHICH DRASTICALLY LOWERS CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE. THUS, THERE IS A PRESSING NEED TO DESIGN NOVEL POST-PROCESSING OPERATIONS AFTER THE TRANSFORMATION STEP IN THE EXTRUDER THAT ENHANCE THE TEXTURAL PERCEPTION OF MEAT ALTERNATIVES.THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE THE TEXTURAL AND SENSORIAL ATTRIBUTES OF ANISOTROPIC (FIBROUS) PLANT PROTEIN STRUCTURES DESIGNED FOR MEAT ALTERNATIVE APPLICATIONS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP APPROACHES THAT ALLOW FOR TENDERIZING PLANT-BASED MEAT ALTERNATIVES SIMILAR TO AGED MEAT TISSUE. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED BY UTILIZING ENZYME- AND MICROORGANISM-MEDIATED TENDERIZATION APPROACHES THAT WILL BE ASSISTED BY 3D SIMULATIONS AND MASS TRANSFER MODELING. WE WILL MEASURE DIFFUSION CHARACTERISTICS AND MODEL THE DIFFUSION BEHAVIOR OF DIFFERENT BIOPOLYMERS IN HIGH-MOISTURE EXTRUDED SOY AND PEA PROTEIN STRUCTURES BY EMPLOYING 3D IMAGING AND COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS. BASED ON THE DIFFUSION DATA, WE WILL ESTABLISH A PROTEASE- AND MICROORGANISM-MEDIATED TENDERIZATION APPROACH AND WILL ANALYZE HOW PROTEOLYSIS WILL AFFECT THE TEXTURAL, SENSORY, PHYSICOCHEMICAL, AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF ANISOTROPIC PLANT TEXTURES. AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT, WE WILL HAVE DEMONSTRATED HOW THE CHARACTERISTIC MICROSTRUCTURE OF ANISOTROPIC PLANT PROTEINS CAN BE MODIFIED BY POST-PROCESSING TENDERIZATION APPROACHES, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY ENHANCE CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE AND ALLOW FOR NEW PRODUCTS TO BE DEVELOPED.

$601,000FY2023National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

University Of Massachusetts, Amherst MA

Investigators

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** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** FIBROUS PLANT PROTEIN STRUCTURES PRODUCED BY THERMOMECHANICAL EXTRUSION PROCESSING ARE INCREASINGLY BEING USED TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE MEAT ALTERNATIVES, BUT THE PRODUCTS OBTAINED LACK THE TENDERNESS AND TEXTURAL DIVERSITY OF REAL FIBROUS MUSCLE TISSUE PROTEINS. CURRENT EXTRUSION APPROACHES PRODUCE FIBROUS PROTEIN STRUCTURES THAT HAVE QUITE DIFFERENT SIZE DIMENSIONS COMPARED TO REAL MUSCLE FIBERS, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE MUCH LARGER DIAMETERS (A FEW ΜM VS. SEVERAL 100 ΜM). THIS RESULTS IN A CHEWIER PRODUCT, WHICH DRASTICALLY LOWERS CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE. THUS, THERE IS A PRESSING NEED TO DESIGN NOVEL POST-PROCESSING OPERATIONS AFTER THE TRANSFORMATION STEP IN THE EXTRUDER THAT ENHANCE THE TEXTURAL PERCEPTION OF MEAT ALTERNATIVES.THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE THE TEXTURAL AND SENSORIAL ATTRIBUTES OF ANISOTROPIC (FIBROUS) PLANT PROTEIN STRUCTURES DESIGNED FOR MEAT ALTERNATIVE APPLICATIONS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP APPROACHES THAT ALLOW FOR TENDERIZING PLANT-BASED MEAT ALTERNATIVES SIMILAR TO AGED MEAT TISSUE. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED BY UTILIZING ENZYME- AND MICROORGANISM-MEDIATED TENDERIZATION APPROACHES THAT WILL BE ASSISTED BY 3D SIMULATIONS AND MASS TRANSFER MODELING. WE WILL MEASURE DIFFUSION CHARACTERISTICS AND MODEL THE DIFFUSION BEHAVIOR OF DIFFERENT BIOPOLYMERS IN HIGH-MOISTURE EXTRUDED SOY AND PEA PROTEIN STRUCTURES BY EMPLOYING 3D IMAGING AND COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS. BASED ON THE DIFFUSION DATA, WE WILL ESTABLISH A PROTEASE- AND MICROORGANISM-MEDIATED TENDERIZATION APPROACH AND WILL ANALYZE HOW PROTEOLYSIS WILL AFFECT THE TEXTURAL, SENSORY, PHYSICOCHEMICAL, AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF ANISOTROPIC PLANT TEXTURES. AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT, WE WILL HAVE DEMONSTRATED HOW THE CHARACTERISTIC MICROSTRUCTURE OF ANISOTROPIC PLANT PROTEINS CAN BE MODIFIED BY POST-PROCESSING TENDERIZATION APPROACHES, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY ENHANCE CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE AND ALLOW FOR NEW PRODUCTS TO BE DEVELOPED. · GrantIndex