Pall Corporation facilitates filtration solutions for Evergrain’s large-scale plant-based protein

20 Jul 2022 --- Evergrain’s new facility in the US will center its operations on upcycling brewer-saved grains to convert them into high-functional plant-based ingredients. Using Pall’s filtration system, with gradient permeability technology, the facility will be able to purify the protein.

“High-performance filtration systems and technologies are critical to achieve the desired nutritional properties for the extracted high-functional protein. For example, a manufacturer producing plant-based milk would use advanced filtration to purify and separate very specific proteins to mimic the nutritional properties, look and taste of cow’s milk,” Dan Huntsberger, vp of general manager F&B at Pall Corporation, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“Filtration technology has played a significant role in many of the plant-based food and beverage products that are now much more accessible to global consumers,” he continues.

Pall’s system uses ceramic membranes with gradient permeability to purify the protein and was previously used for animal feed. Now, it can convert plant-based ingredients.

Upcycled barley
Pall explains that their upcycled barley can be used for beverages such as plant-based milk and enriched-protein drinks.

“This is an area where Pall has deep expertise. The upcycled barley can also be used in plant-based foods such as vegan burgers where it can add protein to the burger without altering the taste profile,” explains Huntsberger.

Innova Market Insights named “Upcycling Redefined” one of its Top Ten Trends for 2022.Evergrain has qualified for the Upcycled Food Association certification. Similarly, Kerry announced yesterday that its upcycled ReGrained SuperGrain contains enough reused ingredients to apply for the Upcycled Certified ingredient standard.

The company expects global protein consumption to double by 2050, hence its push to find more sustainable protein sources. 

“Plant-based and other alternative proteins continue to grow in importance as global protein consumption rapidly increases,” says Huntsberger.

Sustainable practices on the rise
Innova Market Insights named “Upcycling Redefined” one of its Top Ten Trends for 2022, a part of the more significant number one trend: “Shared Planet.” With companies advancing sustainability efforts, upcycling has become an interesting possibility, with untapped potential on the horizon.

“I believe the interest in upcycling in the food and beverage industry is more related to finding sustainable food sources for the future versus a solution to inflation. Because upcycling is relatively new, there is still a lot of research and development to be done to support the scale-up of upcycling in the industry. This is especially true when extracting and purifying high-functioning ingredients,” underscores Huntsberger.

“We started our journey in 2013, long before upcycling was a trend, with the goal of unlocking every grain of potential in our barley to have a positive impact on people and the planet,” said Gregory Belt, EverGrain CEO. 

Upcycle sector on the move
A vast array of ingredients can be upcycled, including bovine colostrum, a nutrient-rich milky fluid that comes from the udder of cows in the first few days after giving birth, or natural umami.

For example, the cocoa sector is trying to reduce food waste by upcycling, which is also a source of extra income for farmers from products that would otherwise have been discarded.

Meanwhile, Blendhub is joining Essence Food, a specialist transforming surplus food into functional products to reduce waste and food loss. The companies will collaborate on developing affordable, nutritional food products from surpluses.

By Marc Cervera