Food structures and properties

The project is in collaboration with the highly interdisciplinary research centre of PAN Sweden where the aim is to couple material science with food and medical science to clarify the relationship between processing, food microstructure, bioavailability, digestion and fermentation on health. The obtained knowledge should lead to the production of more sustainable food products with improved nutritional value, texture and flavour.

YouTube video: Structure and digestability of plant-based proteins

Plant-based Fermented food (Alejandra F. Castaneda)

Interest in the consumption of plant-based foods is growing, and in line with this, consumers have a higher demand for more sustainable, environmentally friendly, and nutritious foods. From a sustainability and human health perspective, this is a positive trend. Replacing soy with local alternatives generally means a shift to more sustainable production/consumption.

The project aims to establish a relationship between processing (heat treatment and fermentation) and the nutritional and sensory quality of a product from local raw materials. In this project, a tempeh-like product with high consumer acceptance will be developed from locally grown faba beans in combination with oats to optimize the amino acid composition. Specific aims:

• To screen and identify microfungi- zygomyceteous filamentous fungi and yeasts- that can be used for faba bean- and oat- fermentations
• To generate prototypes of tempeh using consortia of appropriate microfungi, determine the impact of using different microbial consortia and different mixtures of faba beans and oat.
• To investigate microstructure, rheology, biochemical and mechanical properties of the prototypes
• To evaluate consumer acceptance of the product

Update 03.2025

Faba beans (Vicia faba L.) and whole-grain oats (Avena sativa L.) are nutritious, protein-rich, and sustainable crops well-suited for cultivation in the Nordic region.

This research is part of European project HealthFerm; at SLU we have the focus to improve the sensory, nutritional and in vitro digestion properties of these ingredients through a two-step fermentation process. First, the faba beans and oats are soaked with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, a beneficial bacterium known for enhancing flavour and digestibility. This is followed by solid-state fermentation using Rhizopus microsporus to develop tempeh-like. Tempeh products has the potential to be nutritious plant-based alternative.

Key Findings

Standardized Production – Developed faba & faba-oat tempeh with consistent quality. Read more:   https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10080407

Sensory Study – 107 participants (Sweden & Finland) rated faba-oat tempeh moderately to positively (umami, sour, nutty, mushroom-like).

Soaking with L. plantarum – Enhanced nutty, cheese-like, sour, and meaty notes; Sensory evaluation and GC-MS confirms volatiles compounds.

Nutrition & Digestibility – High protein digestibility, fewer anti-nutrients & sugars → Better nutrition.

Read more:  https://www.slu.se/en/ew-news/2024/11/tempeh/ & https://supermiljobloggen.se/nyheter/intervju/hallbara-livsmedel-mot-slu-forskaren-alejandra-castaneda/

More information about project: https://www.healthferm.eu/

More updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/healthferm/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandra-fernandez-castaneda-7956b9195/

Faba bean and oat have been recognised as suitable crops for production of plant-based yoghurt. The aim of this project is to establish and optimise a workflow from the raw crops to final yoghurt, for increased consumer acceptability. 

• Pre-treatments of faba bean and oat, e.g. heat treatment, enzymatic treatment and pulsed electric field (PEF) and the effect on structural-, rheological-, and nutritional properties
• Screening of yoghurt cultures and the effect of fermentation on microbial composition and structural-, rheological-, and nutritional properties
• Designing food prototypes and assessment of their sensory profiles

Production of plant-based protein often results in wastage of valuable by-products, including fibre and starch, which has significant economic and environmental implications. Innovative processing techniques can be employed to recycle these by-products, thereby enhancing resource efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of food production.
This project is applying innovative food processing methods to repurpose residual streams of starch and dietary fibre generated during industrial extraction of plant-based protein in Sweden. This will enhance the quality of Swedish bread production, as incorporation of these by-products into bread will improve the technological functionality of the final product, prevent staling, increase dietary fibre content, maintain sensory attributes and extend shelf-life. Transforming industrial waste into new value-added food products is a sustainable production approach that help address food security challenges and meet the nutritional needs of a growing population.

This project is funded by FORMAS and is a collaboration between SLU, Chalmers, Kristianstad University and Lantmännen.

Resilient supply of domestic grain legumes for human food will increase Sweden’s disaster preparedness and feed the population in an uncertain future. Grain legume cultivation and processing will increase food system resilience by added nutrients, less need for fertilizer, low environmental impact, and exploiting growing conditions in Sweden. This project aims to create a more sustainable, resilient food system by expanding Swedish capacity for growing plant-based proteins; optimizing production chains by increasing primary production of grain legumes; and developing novel foods from a plant-based intermediary (hydrogel). In work package (WP1), we will simulate expanded Swedish grain legume production and assess economic and environmental impacts. In WP2, we will optimize potential Swedish grain legumes as model substrates and develop pre-treatments to reduce anti-nutritional factors and off-flavors, moderate particle size and improve gel stabilization in plant-based proteins. WP3 will investigate interactions between protein gel matrix and flavor additives to improve texture, sensory properties and flavor release in the food matrix. In WP4, we will assess the resilience of primary and secondary domestic grain legume production and evaluate effects on resilience of exposure to severe disturbances. Policy support will be developed in WP5, in close collaboration with researchers in food science, agricultural economics and policy, and environmental science and technology.

For many years, there has been a steady growth in consumer concerns about the environmental sustainability of the global food supply, animal welfare issues, and ethics concerns about meat eating habits, and human health consequences of meat consumption. Consumer acceptance for plant-based foods is growing and industry sectors focused on plant-based foods are expanding. The UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) are driving governments, business companies, researchers and individuals to find the best ways to adjust their practices to secure a sustainable future by 2030.

A new collaboration project in the Baltic Sea region, “Plant-based diet to ensure progress towards sustainable production and consumption”, will examine the attitudes of meat consumption as well as the readiness of consumers and food producers toward the consumption/production of meat analogues in Ukraine and Moldova.

The project is financially supported by Swedish Institute (SI), project number 00122/2022.

Saeid Karkehabadi and Galia Zamaratskaia from the Department of Molecular Sciences, SLU, are leading this project, and the project team also include Swedish organisations RISE and Kristianstad University, and international partners Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, The National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine and State Agrarian University of Moldova. Moreover, food producing companies from Ukraine and Moldova are important partners in the project.

SLU news article for more information

The participants of the first online kick-off meeting 30 September 2022

This project aims at an increased knowledge of the interplay between different macromolecules related to structure formation, especially gel formation with the focus on proteins and other compunds extracted from  Faba bean.

• The ability to tailor properties for specific applications
• Allowing utilization of a larger part of the bean
• Facilitate the development of novel plant-based foods based on non-soy legumes
• Support the shift towards a more sustainable food system

Arabinoxylan (AX) is an important functional component in baked products affecting water binding and holding, rheology and starch retrogradation that could be used as a bakery ingredient to improve bread quality. In this project we investigate how to increase AX extractability and how extraction affects the properties of AX with the aim at possible fractionation of wheat bran on industrial scale to generate AX.

The major part of the faba bean is starch. This project aims at characterising the ratio amylose:amylopectin, protein, fat, ash and moisture

The project was aimed at understanding how processing and [in vitro] digestion affect different rye and wheat products and linking observations/results within human dietary interventions and animal studies.

It included microstructure analysis of products before digestion and after digestion to probe structural changes during the digestion and the breakdown of starch.

7 products were included: 3 wheat and 4 rye products
3 different food processing methods are were included: crispbread, soft bread and extrusion
We also looked at fermented/leavened products vs. unfermented/unleavened products.

In vitro digestion experiments were done using the INFOGEST protocol

Digesta analysis - insoluble part

• Microstructure

Digesta analysis - soluble part:

• Release of sugar
• Viscosity

This project was WP3 of the JPI HDHL project “Carb-Q-4-Health” or “Tailored Carbohydrate Quality for Personalized Weight Management and Metabolic Health”, a EU collaboration with, among others, Chalmers University of Technology as coordinating University and with project coordinator Prof. Rickard Landberg

• Gelation of faba bean proteins - for the development of new plant based foods from swedish crops

• Effect of oat bran particle size in bread on β-glucan molecular weight, solubility and in vitro viscosity

• Tailored Carbohydrate Quality for Personalized Weight Management and Metabolic Health (Carb-Q-4-Health), WP3 - Food structure-sateity

• Plant-based proteins for health and wellbeing (PAN Sweden), WP1 - Protein Characteristics

• Advancing food structure, processing and function with MAX IV and ESS for a sustainable food system "Fork to Farm" - Food Structure and Properties

• Wood to feed

• Insects as food