Espoo-based food technology company Happy Plant Protein is taking its one-step dry extrusion technology to commercial scale with German ingredient manufacturer Crespel & Deiters. The technology has been installed at Crespel & Deiters' Helmond site in the Netherlands, where it is being used to produce textured vegetable protein from European-grown legumes such as pea and faba bean.
For Crespel & Deiters, the collaboration supports its expansion beyond wheat and enables a simpler, cost-efficient process for producing functional plant protein ingredients. Happy Plant Protein's method is designed to preserve valuable raw material components while reducing bitterness and beany off-notes. The resulting ingredients can be adapted for meat analogues, hybrid foods, ready meals, snacks and other applications. Commercial production is now underway for European food manufacturers seeking regionally sourced protein ingredients.
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Image: Happy Plant Protein
Note: Generative AI was used in the production of the article