Dry-fractionated, defatted durum wheat meal protein (DWMP) is an emerging upcycled food ingredient produced from by-products generated during semolina production. In our previous work, DWMP demonstrated potential for use in texturized vegetable protein (TVP) formulations. However, the resulting texture was suboptimal, suggesting the need for optimization of extrusion parameters. Therefore, the effects of three extrusion parameters (pH 6.9 and 7.5, screw speed 400 rpm and 600 rpm, and moisture content 28% and 32%) were evaluated during the production of TVP formulated with a pea protein isolate (PPI) and DWMP (75:25 w/w). Specifically, pH shifting was chosen as an extrusion variable having a significant impact on texture formation. Textural, physicochemical, and sensory properties of the extrudates were assessed using response surface methodology with a 23 reduced factorial design. Higher screw speed increased the water-holding capacity (WHC) (on average, from 2.7 to 3.4 g HBO/g) and specific volume (2.2-*2.6 mL/g), while decreasing the water-solubility index (WSI) (14.1-*11.9%) and hardness (4522-*2763 g). Higher moisture content led to increased hardness (3255-*4128 g) and decreased springiness (49.8-*44.0%), and sensory perception of fibrousness (1.4-*1.6 score). At higher pH, the WHC improved (2.5-*3.4 g H2O/g), thereby leading to higher sensory moistness (5.4-*6.3 score), and lower sensory hardness (2.8-*2.1 score) of the extrudates. Overall, the findings demonstrate that extrusion conditions can be modulated to improve the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the products, supporting the valorization of durum wheat milling side-streams in sustainable plant-based meat applications.

Abstract Pea hulls, a by-product of pea protein production, represent a valuable source of dietary fibre, and its utilisation supports the implementation of zero-waste approaches in the development of new products. The incorporation of pea starch and extruded pea hulls as fibre sources in high-moisture extruded meat analogues represents a promising approach to obtaining products with desirable textural properties while increasing dietary fibre content. In contrast, the incorporation of fibre may disrupt the homogeneous protein–starch matrix, resulting in a less fibrous structure with shorter fibres. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of extruded pea hull fibre and starch on structure formation, texture, colour, and sensory properties of high-moisture extrudates formulated with pea protein and pea starch. The formulations were based on 80% pea protein isolate (P) and 20% pea starch (S), with extruded pea hulls (F) added at levels of 5%, 10%, and 15% by partially replacing starch. High-moisture extrusion was performed using a twin-screw extruder. Texture profile analysis showed that, compared with extruded pea protein isolate, the hardness and chewiness of samples containing starch and extruded fibre were increase. Similar trends were observed during sensory evaluation, where experts noted that the addition of extruded pea hulls reduced perceived fibrousness, resulting in softer samples that were easier to chew and more closely resembled meat texture. Moderate replacement of starch with extruded pea hulls (10%) in high-moisture extruded products may improve textural properties and provide a basis for further research into meat analogue development.

Plant protein powders are used in liquid dairy alternatives, but their low solubility may cause gritty texture defects. We investigated the factors influencing the sensory perception of particle size in 18 commercial plant protein powders-chickpea, fava bean, mung bean, oat, pea, soy, and wheat-in heat-treated water dispersions at native pH or pH 4.5, conditions relevant to end applications. We measured particle size distribution using laser diffraction and compared it with a sensory assessment. We also used scanning electron microscopy to visualize particles and developed a unique method to quantify surface morphology attributes by visually grading images with a sensory panel, obtaining particle angularity, surface roughness, and heterogeneity characteristics. The results showed that sample preparation significantly influenced particle size distribution and there was no correlation between instrumental results in the dry and liquid state. Particle sizes (D90) in water dispersions at native pH ranged 75-375 mu m, which increased to 73-493 mu m at pH 4.5; soy and wheat particles formed large clumps of 1-2 mm. We observed a linear relationship between D90 and sensorially perceived particle size for particles over 200 mu m. For smaller particles, the perceived sensory size was instead explained by particle angularity and surface roughness. Small, round, and smooth particles were imperceptible, while rough and angular particles of the same size were detected by the sensory panel. These findings emphasize the importance of both particle size and surface morphology in causing gritty textures, offering insights for improving plant-based dairy alternatives.

We present an approach to optimize diet sustainability by combining multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) with multi-objective optimization (MOO). A sustainable diet must balance cultural acceptability, nutritional adequacy, and environmental sustainability. However, a single food group may perform well in one indicator but poorly in others, necessitating the inclusion of multiple indicators to achieve a truly sustainable diet. This, in turn, increases the complexity of the optimization process and the interpretation of its results. To address this challenge, we applied the SURE method as an MCDM tool before MOO to reduce the number of objectives. The SURE score can integrate multiple environmental indicators, capturing their conflicting characteristics and simplifying the optimization problem. The proposed method was applied to optimize the Estonian diet. Estonian food consumption was categorized into 14 groups, and footprint data with uncertainty ranges were collected for analysis. A bi-objective optimization problem was formulated to simultaneously minimize five aggregated environmental footprints and deviations from the reference diet while satisfying nutritional constraints. For comparison, a classical multi-objective optimization approach was also implemented. The results demonstrated that both approaches successfully reduced all environmental impacts. However, the bi-objective optimization offered a more straightforward decision-making process, allowing for the visual representation of results and easier adjustments to objective weights based on decision-maker preferences. This method facilitates the design of sustainable diets by streamlining complex trade-offs and providing a clear framework for informed decisionmaking.

Chitosan is in high demand due to its wide range of applications, resulting in a reliable market. Conventional chemical extraction methods of chitosan are harsh, require strong acids and bases, and produce toxic waste products. High-pressure processing (HPP)-assisted chemical extraction of chitosan has the potential to result in a higher production yield. It is crucial to evaluate the environmental performance of this method. This paper presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of chitosan production methods from an environmental perspective, focusing on HPP-assisted and conventional techniques. Employing life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, the study evaluates the environmental footprints of conventional and HPPsuperior environmental performance, particularly in reducing climate change impact by 64% compared to conventional methods. Sensitivity and scenario analyses confirm the robustness of findings, considering changes in electricity production regions and alternative char ac terization methods. Uncertainty analysis indicates moderate uncertainty levels, affirming data reliability. The study concludes that HPP-assisted chitosan production offers a more sus tainable approach with lower environmental footprints across various endpoints. These find ings provide valuable guidance for stakeholders in the chitosan industry to enhance sus tainability practices and minimize environmental impacts.

Durum wheat meal protein (DWMP) concentrate, obtained through dry fractionation of by-products from durum wheat milling and germ oil extraction, has significant potential for valorization. Its consistent availability, large-scale production, and nutritional value make it promising for plant-based texturized vegetable proteins (TVP). In this study, low-moisture extrusion was used to study combinations of DWMP with pea protein isolate (PPI) at PPI:DWMP ratios of 80:20, 70:30, and 60:40, with 100

Cassava is a starchy staple typically consumed in tropical countries; however, its high moisture content renders it susceptible to post-harvest deterioration. Fermentation has been used to improve shelf-life, functional properties, nutrient bioavailability, minimize toxic compounds, and alter aroma. In this study, the effect of added salt (5-25 %) on the pH, titratable acidity (TTA), and volatile compounds (VOCs) in cassava fermented was investigated. A sharp reduction in pH from 6.98 to 6.20 to 4.81-4.00 and concomitant increase in TTA (0.027-0.297 %) was observed in all the samples on day 2 except the 25 % added salt ferments. The 32 VOCs quantitated on day 50 by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) arrow coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and classified as: alcohol (9), aldehydes (6), ketones (5), carboxylic acids (5), esters (3), nitriles (2), phenol (1) and hydrocarbon (1) were affected by the amount of added salt. PCA explained 68.50 % of the variance and cluster samples based on the similarities between the identified VOCs and showed that fermentation mediated by 15 % added salt presented a VOCs profile comparable to using 20 % of salt, with the former representing a lower cost. The addition of salt can be used to control acidification, adopted as an effective preservation technique, and mediate VOCs production during cassava fermentation.

We investigated how the land footprint of food consumption in Estonia could be decreased through socially acceptable moderate dietary changes while ensuring adequate nutrition. Estonian food consumption was categorized into 14 groups. Five diets were evaluated, including a reference diet, a nationally recommended diet (NRD) by the National Institute of Health Development, and three optimized diets that minimized the consumption land footprint and deviation from the reference diet. The study found that adopting an optimized diet resulted in a decrease in the consumption of milk and red meat, and an increase in the consumption of cereals, tubers, vegetable oils, and nuts, ultimately leading to an up to 56

Many new plant proteins are appearing on the market, but their properties are insufficiently characterized. Hence, we collected 24 commercial proteins from pea, oat, fava bean, chickpea, mung bean, potato, canola, soy, and wheat, including different batches, and assessed their techno-functional and sensory properties. Many powders had yellow, red, and brown color tones, but that of fava bean was the lightest. The native pH ranged from 6.0 to 7.7. The water solubility index was 28% on average, but after heat treatment the solubility typically increased. Soy isolate had by far the best water-holding capacity of 6.3 g (H2O) g−1, and canola had the highest oil-holding capacity of 2.8 g (oil) g−1. The foaming capacity and stability results were highly varied but typical to the raw material. The emulsification properties of all powders were similar. Upon heating, the highest viscosity and storage modulus were found in potato, canola, and mung bean. All powders had raw material flavor, were bitter and astringent, and undissolved particles were perceived in the mouth. Large differences in functionality were found between the batches of one pea powder. In conclusion, we emphasize the need for methodological standardization, but while respecting the conditions found in end applications like meat and dairy analogs.

The kombucha market is a fast-growing segment in the functional beverage category. The selection of kombuchas on the market varies between the traditional and flavoured kombuchas. Our research aimed to characterise the chemical, microbial, and sensory profiles of the commercial kombuchas. We analysed 16 kombuchas from 6 producers. The dominant metabolites were acetate, lactate, and ethanol, the last of which might put some kombuchas into the alcoholic beverage section in some countries. The metagenomic analyses demonstrated that LAB dominates in green tea, and AAB in black tea kombuchas. The main bacterial species were Komagataeibacter rhaeticus and Lactobacillus ssp, and yeast species Dekkera anomala and Dekkera bruxellensis. The sweet and sour balance correlated with acid concentrations. The free sorting task showed that commercial kombuchas clustered into three main categories "fruity and artificial flavour", herbal and tea notes", and "classical notes". Our research results showed the necessity of the definition of kombucha.

It is evident that the interest in plant-based milk alternative products is increasing, although there are still difficulties with undesired sensorial properties. This study seeks to contribute to sustainable food development through a better understanding of the market situation. The objective of this study was to get a comprehensive overview of 90 plant-based beverages currently available on the Estonian market. Main focus of this research was to map the plant-based beverage market sensorially. To evaluate such a large set of samples, RATA (Rate-All-That-Apply) was explored as a method for market mapping. A wide range of products made from different raw materials was characterized. Sensory analysis was able to make some conclusions based on specific raw materials, as there was a lot of variety among different sample groups. Combining the data collected from sensory and aroma analysis (GC/MS/O) helped to further examine the effect of volatile compounds on sensory properties of various product types. Some key compounds were found in different products, including compounds that may be causing off-flavors.

In the production of biopolymers, the processing operations (e.g. extraction and drying) involve some degradation of the polysaccharide-causing structural and functional changes in final products. In this study, short-term heat treatment (75–115 °C, 15 min) influence on commercial carrageenans' — furcellaran, κ-carrageenan, ι-carrageenan and a κ/λ-carrageenan — structure, molecular weight and gel rheology was studied. Compared with other carrageenans, commercial furcellaran that had undergone multiple heatings at high temperatures during production was found to be susceptible to polymer degradation. Heat caused the desulphation and degradation of furcellaran galactans and the molecular weight was significantly decreased, causing a drop in viscosity and gel hardness. The loss of the network cross-linking of furcellaran gels was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Carrageenan gel storage modulus values decreased with the increase in the temperature of the treatment. The greatest decrease in storage modulus values occurred with κ/λ-carrageenan gels, followed by ι-carrageenan > furcellaran > κ-carrageenan.

Dry fractionation by air classification is a sustainable process applied to cereals and pulses to produce protein and starch concentrates. The process involves using a series of cyclones equipped with either a classifier wheel or a restriction valve, which allow to separate a coarse starch-rich fraction and a fine protein-rich fraction. In this study, an apparatus with an air restriction valve was used, with the aim of studying the influence of two set-ups of the air classification system, on the protein content, yield, protein separation efficiency, and physicochemical and functional properties of the resulting fractions. The tighter restriction valve set-up (lower air flow and air speed compared to a more opened set-up) caused an increase in the protein content in the fine protein-rich fraction from 53.9% to 61.9%, but the drawback was a 47% yield decrease and a decrease in the protein separation efficiency. The results highlighted that the dry fractionation process should be carefully calibrated in order to balance the yield and the chemical composition (e.g. the protein content) of the fractions. In particular, the more opened set-up was better capable of balancing these two parameters, indicating that a high air flow is necessary for pulse flour. Moreover, the set-up of the restriction valve did not significantly influence effect on the physicochemical and functional properties of the fraction, pointing out that even a protein-rich fraction with a 50% protein content could be successfully used as a food ingredient.

This study investigated meat analogs produced using low-moisture extrusion from oat and pea protein blends at ratios 20:80, 30:70, 50:50, and 70:30. Response surface methodology was used to assess the effect of blend composition, screw speed (200–1200 rpm), barrel temperature (135–160 °C), and moisture content (25–35%) on the properties of extruded meat analogs. Blend composition had a relatively stronger effect on water holding capacity, water solubility index, bitterness, cohesiveness, and springiness, while extrusion conditions had more influence on hardness, fibrousness, and moistness. As the oat content increased from 20% to 70% the maximum sensory fibrousness increased from 7.2 to 8.6 on a scale of 0–9. Although the mean water holding capacity decreased from 2.1 to 1.4 g g−1, the mean sensory moistness remained around 4.1. Cereal taste dominated over legumes with the mean intensities 3.9 and 2.0, however, the differences between oat-pea blends were small. In general, the extruded meat analogs had a mild flavor and high fibrousness, and the developed response surface models can be used to tune the properties further. This confirms that oat protein in combination with pea is a practical alternative to soy and gluten proteins for the production of meat analogs.

Pea protein dry-fractionated (PDF), pea protein isolated (PIs), soy protein isolated (SIs) and oat protein (OP) were combined in four mixes (PDF_OP, PIs_OP, PDF_PIs_OP, SIs_OP) and extruded to produce meat analogues. The ingredients strongly influenced the process conditions and the use of PDF required higher specific mechanical energy and screw speed to create fibrous texture compared to PIs and SIs. PDF can be conveniently used to produce meat analogues with a protein content of 55 g 100 g−1, which is exploitable in meat-alternatives formulation. PDF-based meat analogues showed lower hardness (13.55–18.33 N) than those produced from PIs and SIs (nearly 27 N), probably due to a more porous structure given by the natural presence of carbohydrates in the dry-fractionated ingredient. PDF_OP and PIs_PDF_OP showed a significantly lower water absorption capacity than PIs OP and SIs_OP, whereas pea-based extrudates showed high oil absorption capacity, which could be convenient to facilitate the inclusion of oil and fat in the final formulation. The sensory evaluation highlighted an intense odor and taste profile of PDF_OP, whereas the extrudates produced by protein isolates had more neutral sensory characteristics. Overall, the use of dry-fractionated protein supports the strategies to efficiently produce clean-labeled and sustainable plant-based meat analogues.

Isothermal microcalorimetry was used to study the exothermic heat flow caused by the absorption of water into carrageenans and a furcellaran, leading to their thermodynamic instability under moderate storage conditions (35 °C, τ = 12 h), where τ is the reaction time (h). The net heats evolved by furcellaran, ι-carrageenan, κ-carrageenan, and a mixture of κ/λ-carrageenan were 43.5 J/g, 45.9 J/g, 31.6 J/g, and 28.1 J/g, respectively. The pronounced exothermic behavior of furcellaran was attributed to the enthalpic association of water molecules with the thermally degraded carbohydrate matrix. The responses of a heat treatment of carrageenans at 55 °C, 85 °C, and 105 °C for 15 min on exothermic heat Q (J/g) at different water activities (aw = 0.26, 0.51, 0.76, and 1.0) were measured. The dependence of the net recorded heat Q on water activity can be satisfactorily approximated by the equation Q = a[1 − (1 − aw)b], where a and b are the coefficients found by the nonlinear least-squares method. It was concluded that carrageenans affected by excessive heat treatment should be preferably stored with limited water access.

European legislation overall agrees that apple juice concentrate is allowed to be used to some extent in cider production. However, no comprehensive research is available to date on the differences in suitability for fermentation between fresh apple juice and that of reconstituted apple juice concentrate. This study aimed to apply freshly pressed juice and juice concentrate made from the same apple cultivar as a substrate for cider fermentation. Differences in yeast performance in terms of fermentation kinetics and consumption of nutrients have been assessed. Fermented ciders were compared according to volatile ester composition and off-flavor formation related to hydrogen sulfide. Based on the results, in the samples fermented with the concentrate, the yeasts consumed less fructose. The formation of long-chain fatty acid esters increased with the use of reconstituted juice concentrate while the differences in off-flavor formation could not be determined. Overall, the use of the concentrate can be considered efficient enough for the purpose of cider fermentation. However, some nutritional supplementation might be required to support the vitality of yeast.

Plant materials that are used for the production of extruded meat analogs are often nutritionally incomplete and also contain antinutrients, thus there is a need to explore alternative plant proteins and pre-treatments. This study demonstrates application of phytase and fermentation to a pea-oat protein blend with a good essential amino acid profile and subsequent texturization using extrusion cooking. Enzymatic treatment reduced the content of antinutrient phytic acid by 32%. Extrusion also degraded phytic acid by up to 18%, but the effect depended on the material. Differences in physicochemical, sensorial, and textural properties between untreated and phytase-treated extruded meat analogs were small. In contrast, fermented material was more difficult to texturize due to degradation of macromolecules; physicochemical and textural properties of extrudates were markedly different; sensory analysis showed enhancement of flavor, but also detected an increase in some unwanted taste attributes (bitterness, cereal and off-taste). Phytic acid was not degraded by fermentation. Analysis of volatile compounds showed extrusion eliminated volatiles from the raw material but introduced Maillard reaction products. Overall, phytase treatment and fermentation demonstrated the potential for application in extruded meat analogs but also highlighted the necessity of optimization of process conditions.