proPOTATO - Potato proteins – challenges and industrial possibilities

The human population continues to grow and is expected to plateau at some 9 billion people by the middle of this century resulting in an increased global demand for food. At the same time agriculture is a major force, driving the environmental impact beyond the “planetary boundaries”. Therefore, an increase of the global food production while at the same time shrinking the agriculture’s environmental footprint is desirable. The conversion efficiency of plant material into animal matter is approximately 10%, thus one efficient way to feed more people is to reduce the consumption of meat and increase the consumption of plant-based products. With the present project we will contribute to this dietary shift by exploiting the proteins in potato fruit juice, a side-stream from the production of starch.
Due to antinutritional components vegetable proteins typically needs to be refined before they are suitable for human consumption. Potato protein production is challenged by specific problems:
1.The presence of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in potatoes. This enzyme turns the potato products brown including the recovered protein fractions, it lowers the solubility and accessibility of the protein fraction, and is likely to reduce shelf-life of goods where potato protein was added in production as they slowly may change color when stored. This is undesirable in products for human consumption.
2.Potatoes contain Glycoalcaloids (GA) that must be removed or significantly reduced as they are toxic and cause the potato proteins to have a bitter taste.
3.Understanding the consumer perception, acceptance, and willingness-to-pay to maximize the creation of value.
Funding: Innovation Fund, KMC, AKV Langholt, DuPont, Copenhagen University
Colaborators: KMC, AKV Langholt, DuPont, Copenhagen University, MBG/iNANO Aarhus University, MAPP centre