“Ingredient for the future of food”: New chickpea protein launched in North America
10 Jul 2018 --- Ingredient technology company Nutriati and exclusive commercialization partner PLT Health Solutions have introduced a new chickpea protein solution to North American food, beverage and supplements markets, touted as being able to take the “pain out of formulating with plant protein.” Called Artesa Chickpea Protein, the ingredient is reportedly the first chickpea-based protein concentrate available in commercial quantities. The Artesa Chickpea Protein concentrate has a minimum protein content of 60 percent, and a fiber content of 14 percent – which the companies report is quite high compared to existing dairy and plant proteins that usually top out at around 2 percent fiber.
Nutriati reports it re-engineered the manufacturing process for Artesa to address some of the main “pain points” related to formulating with plant proteins – starting with ingredient taste and overall in-product sensory experience.
Consumer testing has shown that Artesa can approach the sensory and formulating experience of dairy proteins in the areas of taste, texture, product structure and mouthfeel. The small, uniform particle size of Artesa Chickpea Protein is responsible for formulating benefits that include enhanced dissolution and suspendability, excellent foaming and emulsifying properties and faster, easier processing with less waste than occurs with other leading plant proteins.
In beverages, this small particle size enhances dissolution and suspension of the ingredient in liquids and reduces sedimentation that is a common issue for plant proteins – particularly in higher pH beverages where ‘crash out’ can occur.
In low moisture applications like bakery, the small particle size reduces viscosity of formulations which can help prevent production bottlenecks and reduce non-spec products and waste.
Artesa Chickpea Protein also reportedly has high water binding capacity and foaming and emulsification properties that other plant proteins don’t – which can be critical to processing efficiency, shelf-life and final product quality.
According to Richard Kelly, CEO and Co-Founder of Nutriati, the company’s selection of the chickpea as the source for its plant protein offering is based on a range of factors – from taste and processability to its high sustainability.
“The chickpea gets excellent marks when it comes to sustainability. Chickpeas require significantly lower use of chemical fertilizers, water and pesticides in production. They also have the lowest carbon footprint of any protein starting materials and contribute to healthier soils,” he says.
“Hummus introduced mainstream America to the chickpea as a food two decades ago, and consumers haven’t looked back. Forty percent of all chickpea-based food product introductions over the last 15 years occurred in 2016 and 2017 and 2016 saw a 150 percent increase in chickpea-based snack introductions. We think chickpeas are a great ingredient for the future of food,” he says.
Nutriati’s production process is protected by intellectual property, and according to the companies, it differs significantly from traditional plant protein processes that rely on high amounts of water, acids and precipitation.
According to Nutriati Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer Michael Spinelli, Artesa Chickpea Protein was developed to solve production issues that have accompanied attempts to increase the amount of plant protein in foods and beverages. “Among food and beverage producers, stories of struggles with plant protein are pretty common. Taste issues are often solved via the use of masking agents or added sweeteners. Sometimes processing aids or even facility retrofits are required to handle high protein and gluten-free products,” he says.
“We have found that recipes featuring Artesa Chickpea Protein can meet or even surpass gold standard formulations for taste, texture and other sensory aspects in a range of product applications. We have also found that people can up the boundaries of protein delivered per serving over anything that has been possible with plant-based ingredients with Artesa and still meet consumer expectations for organoleptics,” he adds.
