The food system accounts for between 20-30% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the world's population is growing and so is the need for food. A protein shift, replacing animal proteins with plant proteins, has been identified as a possible solution to both challenges.

Fermentation is a natural process

Researchers are tackling the issue of protein metabolism in a variety of ways, including at RISE using a thousand-year-old technique that has historically been used to extend the shelf life of food and drink. Fermentation is a natural process in which microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and moulds convert one substance into another. When 'fed' with sugar or other carbon sources, microorganisms can produce substances such as acid and alcohol (which affect flavour and preservability), or grow into a protein-rich biomass that can form the basis of novel foods.

"There are really three distinct strands to our work on fermentation and novel foods. The first is to process side streams from the industry. One example is rapeseed press cake, which is what remains after pressing rapeseed oil. It is high in protein and fibre, but has a bitter taste. Here, fermentation could be used to improve the flavour, by adding microorganisms that taste good themselves or that break down the bitter substances," explains Jenny Veide Vilg, Head of Microbiology and Hygiene at RISE.

"This is just one example of how it is possible to reduce waste and increase resource efficiency while creating new foods.

"Another track is called single cell protein. Here, it is the actual cells and proteins in a fungus or yeast that are targeted. By feeding the fungus or yeast with sugar and nutrients, they can grow rapidly and create a huge amount of biomass, which could, for example, replace soya in feed or food. "It's like growing protein in tanks instead of fields," says Jenny Veide Vilg.

Living factories produce milk protein without cows

The third route is precision fermentation, in which microorganisms are genetically reprogrammed to produce specific substances or ingredients. For example, it is possible to program yeasts to produce the milk protein casein, which can be used to make vegan cheese and ice cream. In principle, microorganisms can be modified to produce exactly the protein you want.

"When we make these kinds of genetic changes, we have to find a way to keep them in the organisms. In the lab, we give organisms an evolutionary advantage if they carry a particular gene, so they keep it. Outside the lab, it's harder to have this control, so it's important to make the process robust and scalable," says Jenny Veide Vilg.

From the lab to the lunchbox

Fermentation is researched and tested on several fronts at RISE, not least at the food-approved facilities in Gothenburg and Örnsköldsvik. Food manufacturers come here with their challenges, ranging from flavours in new products to unused by-products, to take advantage of the technical infrastructure and knowledge.

"In fact, we can do everything in fermentation, from selecting the right micro-organism, through biotechnological and genetic adaptation, to the finished product. Thanks to the newly built facility in Örnsköldsvik, we can now also research and develop processes on a scale of up to 10,000 litres, which is important for creating the conditions for scalability," says Jenny Veide Vilg.

"Scaling up is one thing," she stresses, "but moving from research to a product that people want to eat is perhaps the biggest challenge.

"We have researchers at RISE working on the taste and texture of food, but also on neophobia, the phobia of trying new things. In the marine sector, a lot of work is being done to encourage consumers to eat seafood other than cod, salmon and herring. This work must also be done when it comes to fermented novel foods," says Jenny Veide Vilg.

There are several parameters that consumers consider when filling their shopping baskets. Price is one of them, of course. For others, it is more important that the goods come from Sweden. Some look for food with a sustainability label, while others look for keyholes. However, certain parameters are always in the picture - taste and texture.

"For people to make a lifestyle change, it has to taste good, that's how we are. Many new food products are difficult to establish. People may try the product once, but if the taste is not good enough, there is a high risk that they will not buy it again," says Lina Svanberg, Head of Unit at RISE.

Today, there are many techniques for developing new foods. These include growing proteins from fungi and yeast in a controlled environment, such as at RISE's food-grade biotechnology infrastructure in Örnsköldsvik. Or developing plant-based foods that can supplement or replace animal products. The big challenge is to produce food that consumers actually choose, not just once, but on a regular basis. Product design plays an important role in this.

The answer lies in the detail

At RISE's food-approved facility in Gothenburg, nearly 30 researchers and engineers work on food design. The focus is on taste, texture and nutritional content. Much of the work revolves around understanding how to extract functional ingredients from a particular raw material and what type of food that ingredient is best suited to.

"We help companies to develop products that are not yet on the market, but also to optimise and improve the quality of existing ranges. In addition to being able to extract ingredients on a kilo scale and create products, for example through extrusion, baking and emulsification, we have very advanced analytical equipment," says Lina Svanberg, and continues:

"These include microscopy, which allows us to study what is happening in the product in great detail, often combined with measurements of texture and flow properties, as well as aroma analysis, which can detect bee flavours, for example. This helps the customer to answer questions such as why a product does not taste good or loses its consistency during storage."

Taste panel tests new foods

To further optimise the quality of the product, it is important to be able to taste it, says Lina Svanberg.

"There is no analytical instrument that can replace the human sense of taste. That's why it's an advantage that we can produce different products under food-grade conditions so that samples can actually be tasted," she says.

At the food facility, a trained sensory panel of 16 people with a keen sense of taste and the ability to describe taste and texture in a way that can be further used in product development.

Consumer testing is also used to better understand consumers' thoughts and perceptions of a product and how individual differences affect the taste experience. To get the right taste, texture and appearance of a product, it is important to understand what the consumer expects and wants from the product early in the product development process.

Hybrids are coming back

Looking to the future in the field of novel foods, Lina Svanberg points out that there is an increasing demand for the development of hybrid products (products in which parts of the animal raw material are replaced by, for example, a plant-based ingredient).

"Perhaps this is because it is difficult to make a completely plant- or fungus-based alternative that has a big impact. You want to do something because it's better than doing nothing, and hybrid products can be a step in that direction," she says.

RISE's product design team can also help develop and refine these types of novel foods. How do the different ingredients interact with each other, what effect does the manufacturing process have and how does it affect the taste and texture of the final product?

"It's a really exciting area to work in, and I can see how we can help our customers throughout the whole process of developing a product," says Lina Svanberg.