Unraveling secrets of food: Motif FoodWorks collaborates on improving fat performance in plant-based products

03 Jun 2020 --- Motif FoodWorks (Motif), a US-based animal-free ingredient company, is collaborating on an exclusive research collaboration and license option with the University of Guelph in Ontario, and Dr. Alejandro Marangoni, Founder of Coasun, which produces an alternative to shortening with low saturated fat. Under the partnership, Motif will evaluate novel technologies for formulating lipids and fiber-forming ingredients in plant-based foods. These have the potential to enable unprecedented taste and texture improvements in these fast-growing categories. This collaboration reflects Motif’s “whole science” approach to ingredient design, combining science, technology and insights in new ways to unravel the secrets of food.

“Getting plant-based fat solutions that cook, taste, and perform the way that animal fats do has been a major priority for the industry,” Mike Leonard, Chief Technical Officer at Motif, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. Solving this particular gap is attractive to Motif for a few reasons, he states.

“Firstly, it presents a real technical challenge – ingredients derived from plants simply aren’t going to behave the same way animal ingredients do. With the technologies we’re evaluating in our collaboration with Guelph and Coasun, we’re trying to determine whether there are new insights and processes we can uncover that make these fat structures perform better for consumers,” he explains. 

Mike Leonard, Chief Technical Officer at MotifSecondly, fat is a critical property to get right in plant-based products because it is at the heart of how consumers experience many of their favorite foods, from burgers to cheese, Leonard continues. “Can we improve the juiciness and marbling of plant-based meats, or bring a meltier, creamier quality to vegan cheeses? Improving these properties will help us advance our mission to make plant-based food better tasting, more nutritious and so desirable that people will keep coming back for more.”

“Understanding how to properly structure fat in plant-based food is mission-critical for the food industry,” says Dr. Marangoni. “We’re excited to work alongside Motif to determine how some of the newest technologies will work in food products to improve the sensory experience of plant-based meat and dairy on a broader scale.”

Food producers have historically relied on existing ingredients such as coconut oil to replicate the sensory experience of animal-derived fats. Still, current solutions do not taste, cook or interact with other components as animal fats do. Faithfully recreating the attributes of animal fat has been a missing link for plant-based food developers. 

Over a 12-month period, Motif will assess a set of promising technologies that aim to improve animal-free fats to make consumer favorites like plant-based burgers, sausages and cheese more delicious, including:

• Replacing saturated fat with an animal-free emulsion system that exhibits the physical properties of saturated fat at room temperature. 
• Replicating critical animal fat structures, such as the pockets of fat in meat products that produce marbling. 
• Improving the texture of plant-based cheeses to be more meltable and elastic.

The functionality of fats
Fat, and the way it interacts with other ingredients, is a crucial factor in many food experiences, plant-based or otherwise. “We are looking at technology through our collaboration with Guelph and Coasun that could replicate that marbling quality in plant-based meats. Ultimately, getting fat structures right in plant-based foods will unlock the flavors and textures people look for in food,” Leonard elaborates. 

Moreover, plant-based fats and oils behave very differently from animal fats, and these differences present significant formulation challenges for plant-based product developers. “Animal fats, such as those found natively in beef, chicken and pork, are highly functional. They are critical to the delivery of desirable texture, juiciness and flavor in meat,” he adds.  

The physicochemical properties of animal fats – which tend to be saturated – are challenging to replicate with plant-based fat systems, structured very differently. Today, formulators use a combination of saturated plant-based fats, liquid oils and hydrocolloids to achieve the best results in plant-based meats. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement, according to Leonard, especially during the cooking process, where plant-based fat systems tend to lose their structural integrity. 

“Nutritionally speaking, there is also a real need to reduce the levels of saturated fat in food. So it’s critically important to identify new plant-based fat technologies that can deliver against both functionality and nutrition,” he asserts. 

“Creating the right kind of fat structures in plant-based foods is one of the most significant – and exciting – challenges in the category because fat plays such a critical role in what makes some of our favorite food experiences so satisfying,” Leonard notes. “In our work with Dr. Marangoni and the University of Guelph, we will evaluate technologies with the potential to serve as critical new building blocks in plant-based food design.”

“New products hit the market every month and the technologies that produce them continue to advance as both consumer demand and expectations for these products grow. We see a long-term opportunity to transform the eating experience of plant-based foods to drive deeper consumer acceptance by providing products that are better for people and our planet,” Leonard continues. 

“We are actively taking a ‘whole science’ approach to ingredient design, combining insights and technologies in new ways to get new, better answers to plant-based food challenges. We are looking to grow our network of research and technology partners as well as advancing our internal R&D as part of this approach,” he concludes. 

By Elizabeth Green