Health properties of plant-based snacks

These novel plant-based snacks may play an important role to a healthy vegetarian diet that needs a balanced amino acid composition, dietary fiber and enough micronutrients such as iodine, zinc selenium and vitamin B12.

Both production and characterization of snacks are important tasks in the project. Both main bioactive components and antioxidants are characterized, to understand how the extrusion process impacts these nutritional properties of the snacks.

A short scientific mission was carried out by Cátia Carmo (scientist of Nofima AS) at iBET in the beginning of the bilateral initiative. This internship was focused on the phenolic characterization of the plant-based snacks using chromatographic techniques associated to mass spectrometry.

Results so far

iBet and Nofima have elucidated methods to monitor the fate and stability of important constituents during extrusion such as antioxidant capacity and specific carbohydrate constituents such as beta-glucan and non-digestible oligosaccharides.

A Book chapter was published as a result of the collaborative work within ExtraSnack. The chapter is entitled «Alternative Protein Sources» in the Book «Food Technology Disruptions» from Elsevier.

This chapter presents an overview of some alternative protein sources. Additionally, this chapter describes the recovery of proteins from these alternative sources using conventional and emerging technologies. How these alternative protein products will assist the disruptive applications in the Food Industry is also discussed, concerning their use in the development of meat analogues.

The market of alternative proteins is increasing, driven by the consumer demand for ethically sourced, sustainable, and healthier protein sources. This has resulted in a more diverse range of ingredients, pushed by an interest in ‘alternative protein’ sources, where plant-based ingredients, insects, and more recently cell-cultured protein, compete with more traditional animal proteins.

About EEA Grants

The ExtraSnack initiative is funded by the Bilateral Fund program of EEA Grants 2014-2021. This fund supports initiatives aimed at strengthening relations between Portugal and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics.

The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion. Learn more.