AlgaVia whole algal protein: Protein is hot, and vegan proteins are even hotter…
So what are the ingredients like to work with?
AlgaVia whole algal protein - which is 65% protein, 10% healthy fat, 4% moisture, 5% ash, and 16% ‘other carbohydrates’ (primarily insoluble fiber) - is a warm yellow color and has a nutty, umami taste similar to crushed pistachios if you eat it with a spoon, but an ultra-smooth texture.
But aside from the interest in a new source of vegan protein, what is really exciting many food manufacturers - who are falling over themselves to add protein to everything from nutrition bars to smoothies right now - is that the protein is protected in the cell walls of the micro-organism.
Says Sally Aaron, director product marketing, Solazyme Food Ingredients: “So you have this unique combination of a protein that has a complete amino acid profile, and is particularly high in arginine and glutamine, that’s highly digestible, but that won’t interact with other ingredients in a formulation.”
Meanwhile, in a low PH beverage such as tropical fruit juice smoothie, for example, you don’t need to add stabilizers to stop the protein from falling out of the solution, ensuring labels stay clean, she says.
Some customers report that they have also been able to achieve sodium reductions in some applications owing to the umami flavor of the algal protein, she adds.
“There’s an education process, because food formulators did not go to school learning about how to formulate with whole algal ingredients, but in many cases, the formulation changes are pretty simple.”
In a cracker prototype on show in the applications lab, for example, just replacing some flour with whole algal protein enables firms to double the fiber (from 1g to 2g) and the protein content (from 4g to 8g) per serving, without making any other adjustments to the recipe, she notes.
“We’ve had interest from companies making beverages, sauces, beverages, sports nutrition products, savory snacks, breads and cereals.”