Ever wonder how snacks and other novel food products wind up on the shelves of your local supermarket? We visited FoodPlant to learn about how food startups like Sustyfoods can pilot and upscale their delicious innovations.
Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00It's easy to advocate a diet, but what I really want to do is
00:04I want to give people the tools so that they can do it in a simple and painless manner.
00:09The effects of plant-based diets don't necessarily translate to plant-based meat alternatives.
00:14So because of the limited studies, we don't actually fully know the long-term effects of
00:19replacing conventional protein sources in your diet with these plant-based meat alternatives.
00:25In this series, we'll explore how innovative technologies and
00:29local initiatives are rethinking the way we produce and consume food.
00:35Welcome to Future Food, where we explore the food production of tomorrow.
00:43To find out more about alternative proteins, I speak to an expert from ASTAR.
00:48So how has consumer perception of alternative proteins evolved over the years?
00:54Locally in Singapore, if you step into supermarkets,
00:57I believe compared to a few years ago, you'd probably see a lot more brands
01:01of plant-based protein or different fermented foods.
01:05And these are all, I would say, new categories of alternative protein foods.
01:09Many of these consumers start purchasing these alternative protein products because
01:14they could be more driven by sustainability concerns or maybe they just have a certain curiosity.
01:20At the end of the day, however, I think when you talk about food,
01:24people often want familiarity.
01:26And it's a process to get people familiar with this new category of food.
01:31But clearly, if you talk about things like cultivated meat or microbial proteins,
01:36meaning fermented foods, these have actually not been in existence for so long, right?
01:43It has been researched for a couple of years, but in the grander scheme of things,
01:47it has actually still been in only a limited number of years of work.
01:52So I would say there's still some way to go, both in terms of the product attributes,
01:57as well as in consumer familiarity.
02:00Because you and me grew up drinking a certain brand, right?
02:03Or eating a certain brand of food.
02:04And as you grow up, it kind of remains with you, right?
02:07You remember how things taste.
02:09You kind of want that thing again.
02:12So I would think how people accept this new class of foods will take time.
02:17So I hope to that end, some of the work that is done at ASTAR and SIFP
02:22in understanding consumer sensory behavior,
02:26in understanding how to enhance the nutrition of food,
02:29how to make foods at scale cheaper.
02:31I think these are hopefully all the initiatives that drive the adoption of alternative proteins
02:36in the future, or at least get consumers more willing to give it a try.
02:40In this episode, we take you to Foodplant,
02:43where companies can access affordable small batch food production in Singapore,
02:48allowing innovators to pilot and upscale their food production techniques.
02:52To find out more about the work that Foodplant is doing,
02:55we meet with the man behind SustiFood.
02:58Hi Gautam, nice to meet you.
03:00I hear you are the founder of...
03:03SustiFoods.
03:04SustiFoods.
03:04And you've got something special for me today.
03:07There we go.
03:08Baked lentil puffs.
03:10So why lentil and how is it different from the other snacks on the market?
03:15So firstly, lentils are great for you.
03:17They're packed with protein, they're packed with fiber and they're calorie controlled.
03:21So if you want something that's healthy on the go, it's the perfect snack for you.
03:25They're also better for the planet.
03:27Lentils require far less water to grow than any other crop
03:31and they emit less carbon dioxide as well.
03:33So they're not just better than other meat alternatives,
03:36they're also better than other plant-based alternatives like soy for the planet.
03:40Wow, interesting.
03:41So what is your R&D process like in order to find the desired taste and texture?
03:46It was quite a long process.
03:48This has been in the works for a couple of years now.
03:51So you need to get a few parts right.
03:53So we basically take lentil flour, we put it through a line and then you have puffs come out.
03:58So you need to get the parameters of the machinery right,
04:02you need to get the formula right and you need to get the seasoning right as well.
04:05So we've tried this maybe 20 different times.
04:09So we've run through 20 different variations of the formulation
04:12before we got something that worked well.
04:14So what do you think is the biggest hurdle in the adoption of novel foods?
04:19I think the number one hurdle would be the taste.
04:21At the end of the day, you can pitch someone all you want
04:24on the benefits of having a specific kind of food
04:27but if it doesn't taste good, people don't care.
04:29So what trends are you observing in the demands for plant-based and alternative snacks?
04:35I think the plant-based space is moving away from hyper-processed
04:40to something more recognisable, made with real ingredients.
04:44So before this, we had plant meat patties, now we have mushroom patties.
04:48So before this, you had protein puffs or vegan puffs, now we have lentil puffs or pea puffs.
04:54So people are not just looking for plant-based alternatives,
04:58they're looking for plant-based alternatives made with real food ingredients.
05:01So what are Sustifood's long-term goals in terms of sustainability and impact?
05:06We want to empower people to cut back on their meat intake and embrace a flexitarian diet
05:14without having to put their diets at the centre of their lives.
05:17So we're looking for that viable middle ground.
05:20I don't promote a vegan diet because it's very difficult to maintain.
05:23I try to cut back on meat intake and incorporate more plant-forward foods.
05:31that are high in protein, so that way I can consume less meat.
05:34So how did you commercialise your product?
05:38So the jump from having a viable recipe to producing commercially is a big jump
05:44because you don't want to produce a large batch right off the bat.
05:49The first version you launch with is just a draft.
05:52You need to iterate the product many times before you get to
05:55taste and product features that are viable.
05:57And food plants play the key role in bridging this gap
06:00because they allowed us to produce small commercial batches
06:03that we could sell anywhere, whether it was supermarkets or online,
06:07so that we could run this rolling experiment, tweak the recipes multiple times
06:11without having to produce a big batch up front.
06:14It's like a pilot taste test.
06:16Correct.
06:18Sounds good!
06:19Stay salty!
06:21After hearing about Sustifood's efforts at making better snacks,
06:25we sit down with the CEO of Foodplant to get additional insights.
06:30Hi, Dr Lim.
06:31Thanks so much for having us with you today.
06:34Yes, thank you, Lynn, for having me here.
06:36And could you talk a bit more about your process
06:39of developing new products here at Foodplant?
06:41At Foodplant, we help companies to bring their products
06:44from kitchen to the market shelves.
06:47So most companies approach us with already a kitchen-tested recipe
06:51to be ready for the scale-up.
06:54And we offer our state-of-the-art processing facilities
06:59and our team of the food technologists will work together with the companies
07:04and to help them to optimise their recipes
07:06and design the production process
07:09and also to look into the food safety parameters
07:13to make sure that the product produced will be safe.
07:16And we will help the company to go on to the next stage
07:19to produce a small batch for testing the market.
07:23And this is a very crucial step because this is where
07:27they will be able to understand the consumer acceptance of the product
07:31and to do more fine-tuning if necessary.
07:35Then they will continue with the third stage
07:38which is the commercial production.
07:40What are some of the unique offerings and facilities that Foodplant has to offer?
07:44At Foodplant, we have 12 processing rooms
07:47and each room we have one specialised equipment.
07:52Like in this room, this is the report machine.
07:55So this is one of the very popular equipment in our facility here.
08:00A lot of companies use this machine to do their commercialisation
08:05to help them extend the shelf life of their product.
08:08For example, we help Fish Soup Paradise
08:11to extend the shelf life from frozen for six months
08:14to a shelf stable at ambient temperature for 18 months.
08:18We also have a UHT machine and besides we also have the spray drying
08:24and the twin screw extruder.
08:27So Dr. Lin, what would you say is the future of novel foods in Singapore?
08:32I think it's going to be very exciting.
08:35We have a very strong ecosystem with the government providing funding
08:40to the research institution and the start-up.
08:43On the consumer side, they are more open to sustainable food choices
08:49and I believe that more and more people will embrace it
08:52when they become more accessible and affordable.
08:55Thanks for all your insights today
08:57and wish you all the best for your projects here.
09:00Thank you very much.
09:02To find out more about plant-based proteins,
09:05we speak to Jillian, a dietician from Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
09:10So what are the health benefits of plant-based meat?
09:13So as we know, plant-based diets are strongly associated
09:16with lower risk of certain conditions
09:18like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even certain types of cancer.
09:22However, with plant-based meat alternatives,
09:24the benefits of plant-based diets may not necessarily translate
09:28to these meat alternatives.
09:29The meat alternatives themselves have not been very well studied
09:32so we don't actually know the full extent of their long-term effects on health
09:36if you were to use these meat alternatives as a replacement in your diet
09:40for conventional protein sources.
09:42Generally speaking, they are nutritionally quite similar
09:45but plant-based proteins or plant-based meat alternatives rather
09:49tend to be higher in sodium content and slightly lower in protein content
09:53compared to conventional protein options.
09:56Right, so in a way, it's like just having more vegetables
09:58rather than actual protein protein?
10:02Sort of.
10:02Also, a lot of the current options that we have on the market
10:05are actually quite highly processed, right?
10:07They come in the form of burgers, nuggets
10:09and because of that, they tend to be higher in sodium, fat and sugar content,
10:13overall higher in calories
10:15so they're not necessarily going to be healthier
10:17than lean proteins or lean meats, for example.
10:21So Gillian, what's the best way to incorporate plant-based meat into your diet?
10:25Yeah, I think for those who are keen to do so,
10:27you would want to choose the products that are less processed.
10:30Generally, that would mean the ingredients list is probably a bit shorter.
10:33It looks a bit more like the whole natural form.
10:36For example, a bean patty really being just beans being smashed into a patty
10:41or even tofu-based kind of foods.
10:43But other than that, there are also other healthy ways
10:45to kind of reduce the amount of animal-based protein you're taking,
10:49mainly focusing on lentils, nuts, soybean-based products.
10:54These will also help you to move away from being so reliant on that.
10:58Animal-based proteins can also be healthy.
11:01For example, fish, eggs, lean poultry, if you remove the skin and fat,
11:05those can also belong in a very healthy diet
11:08and also diversify your options for protein.
11:11So, would you say plant-based foods will increase gut health or plant-based alternatives?
11:18I think if you're incorporating less processed plant-based alternatives
11:23together with a variety of foods, it could be beneficial.
11:26Having a more diverse gut microbiome comes from having a very diverse diet
11:30that's observed with plant-based foods.
11:33Mainly, we're looking at fruits and vegetables, beans.
11:37So, a lot of plant-based meat alternatives are actually using beans
11:41and maybe products that we may not typically consume as often.
11:45So, if you're consuming them in the form of plant-based meat alternatives
11:48that are less processed,
11:49so you're not getting all the additional fat, sodium, sugar with that,
11:52and you're taking that together with your otherwise pretty balanced, varied diet,
11:56that brings in a little more diversity to what you're eating
11:58and could then also help to diversify your gut microbiome,
12:02which is then associated with quite a few health benefits.
12:05So, with plant-based food being around for some time now,
12:08how would you like to see it grow or change in the future?
12:11Hopefully, with growing popularity,
12:14that means there will be more companies being interested in investing in it,
12:17developing a wider variety of products.
12:20With more competition,
12:21hopefully that also means they're motivated to make more healthy products,
12:24shorter ingredients lists,
12:26actually lower in sodium, sugar and fat content,
12:29and then hopefully then in a few years' time or a few decades' time,
12:32we might have really good, healthy options
12:34that are actually plant-based meat alternatives.
12:37Thanks for joining us today
12:38as we discovered what goes on behind the scenes
12:41to propel food innovation in Singapore.
12:44In our next episode,
12:45we will take a deep dive to see how fish can be reared in the heartlands.
12:51Swim along!
12:53Like, what's worse, the end of our story?
12:55That's all the questions I wanted to ask you.
12:58Oh, okay, how do I lose weight?
13:00Oh, do you want the short answer or the long answer?
13:03Do not put this on the bloopers.
13:08So you're a fan of mushrooms?
13:10I am.
13:10I love mushrooms.