Oil4Emulsion

With a growing awareness of the impact of one’s food choices on animal welfare and the environment, more and more consumers are switching to a plant-based diet. This trend is also reflected in the market, and the popularity of plant-based substitute products is expected to continue to rise in the coming years. Coincidentally, there is also a growing interest in "clean label" products, which are characterised by short and comprehensive ingredient lists.

Affected by both trends are foods that contain emulsions. Due to their thermodynamically unstable nature, manufacturers often rely on the use of animal proteins or additives to stabilise the oil-water interface and ensure satisfactory properties and storage stability. As opposed to this, the functional properties of plant proteins differ significantly from those of animal proteins, often show inferior functionality, and have not been researched to the same extent. Because proteins from different sources differ greatly in properties, blends can work well in compensating for sometimes insufficient functionality. Like this, the positive properties of each component can be leveraged and, ideally, synergistic effects can be achieved. It is also important to note that oil plays a substantial role in emulsions, although it has been studied only in a limited way so far in plant-based systems. A deep understanding of the interactions taking place in the system, as well as the related synergies and dyssynergies, is required to enable targeted combinations of proteins and oil.

A primary objective of the project is to investigate how protein blends and oil components influence the properties of emulsions. Understanding how various components influence the stabilizing and destabilizing mechanisms of emulsions will lead to a better understanding of how they function. By applying this newly acquired knowledge to emulsion-based plant foods, new trends such as plant-based diets and "clean label" can be met.

Proteins from potato and lupine are used as stabilising components, and oils from coconut, sunflower and soy are used as the dispersed phase. The individual raw materials are comprehensively characterised and then processed into emulsions in different combinations. Researched properties include maximum emulsifying capacity, droplet size distribution and the investigation of stability. By doing so, the project facilitates the formulation of plant-based products without the use of additives.