The rise and rise of plant protein
Our next stop was at the ADM booth where we hooked up with Russ Egbert, PhD, director protein applications research, to talk about Clarisoy, the ‘invisible’ soy protein isolate developed by Burcon and now produced, distributed and sold by ADM under license.
The original product - Clarisoy 100 - is heat-stable (ideal for hot-fill), 100% soluble and transparent in acidic beverages, with no off flavors or odors and no soy ‘beany’ taste, making it ideal for sports nutrition beverages, fruit and fruit-flavored juices, powdered beverage mixes and fortified waters, said Egbert.
However, later iterations developed by ADM including Clarisoy 110, 120, 150, 170 and 180 open up a broader range of application opportunities from coffee creamers and shots to meal replacement beverages, said Egbert.
"For Clarisoy 110, for example, we did a lot of work using enzymes to break the protein chains so that we could reduce the viscosity and enable customers to add much higher levels of protein. This means you can deliver as much as 25g of protein in an 8oz serving, opening up completely new application opportunities such as protein shots.
"We're also working on low viscosity versions of Clarisoy that can be used to replace dairy protein in neutral pH high protein meal replacement beverages."
While some plant-based proteins hitting the market have a lot of potential, from canola to algae, there are still challenges ahead, some technical, and some commercial, he said.
For example, if you want to make money out of pea protein, "you need to have a ready market for pea starch and fiber."
Picture: From the Innova market Insights booth
