Protein remains a buzzword in consumer label awareness. Shifting appetites for clean eating and meat-free diets, and mounting pressure coming from how to sustainably feed the world’s ballooning population, are pivoting formulators toward alternative sources for the macronutrient. 

Key suppliers speak to FoodIngredientsFirst to highlight the latest rollouts of protein-rich nutritional yeast, algae-based alternative seafood, defatted nut powders, heat-stable whey and sweetness-enhancing “designer proteins.”

Sweet designer proteins
“The need to reach large-scale production in a safe, healthy and cost-efficient manner form barriers to some of the current proteins that are still in the R&D stage,” says Dr. Ilan Samish, founder and CEO of Amai Proteins. The company specializes in “sweet designer proteins” used as sugar substitutes.

“Likewise, public perceptions on synthetic biology and GMOs are not helping the production of proteins that are a better fit for the healthfulness and needs of the market. These include stable, digestible, hypoallergenic and tasty proteins.”

Currently, thaumatin is the only globally-used sweet protein found in hundreds of food products. However, the usage of this protein is hampered by its price, lack of supply and taste-profile, as well as shelf life and stability limitations in some applications.

In comparison to other known sweet proteins, Amai’s protein can offer 30 to 70 percent sugar reduction without hampering the full-sugar sensory profile.

The company conducts Agile-Integrative Computational Protein Design (AI-CPD) using designated cloud-computing-based software to design proteins that are 70 to 100 percent identical to sweet proteins found in nature. 

It recently partnered with Ocean Spray to roll out a cranberry juice that features roughly 40 percent less sugar featuring its designer protein.

“The AI-CPD takes proteins that live in their small piece of heaven and adapts them to live in the extreme ‘hell’ environment of food,” says Samish. “This is done by redesigning the proteins’ sequence by implementing the know-how of how proteins support life at the extreme, such as in the Dead Sea, hot springs or acidic swamps.”

“I strongly believe that the market is moving out of traditional agriculture and into the environmentally-friendly and sustainable precision fermentation field wher proteins can be grown in large fermenters with recycled water and without pesticides.”

Nutritional yeast as a protein source
Often sold in the form of yellow flakes, granules or powder, nutritional yeast is a popular ingredient among the vegan community as it is used as a flavorful umami topping to replac cheese and enhance salt perception.

Lallemand’s Engevita HiPro is a mild and nutty-tasting inactive yeast from the genus Saccharomyces cerevisiae, marketed as a minimally processed complete protein source containing sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids.

“The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of nutritional yeast provides very positive rates,” highlights Silvia Soragni, global savory product manager at Lallemand.

“Our nutritional yeast Engevita provides a readily dependable, natural fiber source and high quality proteins that are easily assimilated.”

Free of both soy and gluten, Engevita HiPro has a wide variety of food and health applications, such as smoothies and complementary seasonings for end-consumers. It can be applied as well in prepared meals by food processors to improve the protein quality and content of a variety of meals.

“On top of Engevita, we offer other yeast specialties, rich in protein, with different purposes of use especially in the plant based arena,” notes Soragni.

Lallemand’s Toravita 300 is a natural Torula yeast with a high protein content (> 48 percent) that offers a flavor masking abilities. It is a clean label ingredient with an inactive yeast declaration.

“In the plant-based arena, when different vegetable protein sources are utilized for the meal composition, the food processors might be challenged by the inherent flavors of the seleced ingredients,” explains Soragni. 

“Especially in case of meat or dairy-mimicking ingredients, a neutral protein matrix could be helpful to achieve the desired flavor.”

Givaudan tips algal protein for success
Developed from algae or seaweed, algal proteins are currently gaining great interest as a protein base for these products, as highlighted by Sylvain Jouet, global product manager of Savory at Givaudan.

“We’re actually seeing some of the most interesting plant-based innovations coming out of the alternative fish and seafood product market,” he adds. “These novel proteins are grown in water via photosynthesis and actually provide a complementary flavour profile for fish and seafood.”

Together, these properties make algal proteins an attractive protein source for manufacturers and a logical, easy-to-understand ingredient for consumers. 

“While scale-up costs pose certain challenges to successful large-scale production, we expect this to be a long-term growth source for this market,” says Jouet.

Givaudan’s portfolio of tools includes masking solutions and umami ingredients designed to help with the authenticity of fish and meat alternatives flavors. The specialist has tested masking and texturizing solutions in gluten, soy, peas, potatoes, mung beans, oats, lentils and chickpeas.

Clean tasting nut-based proteins
Plant proteins such as pea or soy can sometimes leave a raw or beany taste and therefore formulators may need to introduce additional ingredients to mask these flavors.

Nut protein powders, however, have a clean taste and can be used in several applications without the need for further flavorings, as highlighted by Kamesh Ellajosyula, chief innovation officer at Olam Food Ingredients (OFI).

“Some of our latest developments in the protein space include our defatted almond and cashew powders, as part of our nut powders range,” he notes. “Our defatted almond powders are produced by cold-pressing high-quality, raw whole or blanched almonds.”

“This process not only removes over 60 percent of the almond fat content, but it also ensures the quality of mineral, protein and fiber remain intact and reduces the calorie content by 25 percent compared to regular almond powder.”

Defatted almond powder – also known as almond protein powder – is a high source of plant-based protein and can enhance the nutritional profile of a finished product as well as leave a clean taste and smooth mouthfeel.

“Our defatted cashew powder also offers a very neutral taste and is lower in calories, consisting of 30 percent pure protein with 50 percent less fat content than regular cashew flour,” adds Ellajosyula. “These protein powders are also a good source of dietary fiber, are low in carbohydrate content and score low on the glycaemic index,” he highlights.

“However, while the nutritional profile of nuts is unmistakable, their functional potential is still unexplored by many. The versatility, solubility and functional properties of these powders make them ideal for use in products such as high protein bars and vegan chocolate.”

Heat stability for whey protein
Within Carbery’s Optipep whey protein hydrolysate range, the ingredient supplier is working on key areas such as delivering 10 percent whey protein content with excellent heat stability for UHT beverages, while still hitting taste and mouthfeel benchmarks.

“For the performance nutrition market, in 2020, we launched Optipep 4Power, a hydrolyzed whey protein that, when taken before a high-intensity workout, helps athletes produce and sustain greater power output compared to whey protein concentrate,” highlights Sarah O’Neill, Carbery marketing manager.

Carbery commissioned a clinical study to investigate the metabolic and performance effects of differing nutritional strategies for this type of workout routine.

“Our clinical study revealed that Optipep 4Power provided a greater capacity for power generation, as well as a marked improvement in fatigue index which enables athletes to sustain high intensity exercise performance for longer,” says O’Neill.

The supplier is also focused on developing whey protein ingredients that focus on specific health benefits derived from their bioactive peptide profiles. “Current areas of research include appetite modulation, healthy ageing and performance outcomes for athletes,” details O’Neill.