Scaling the cashew apple supply
2020-2022
Dr. Dionisio is exploring cashew apple as a raw material for plant-based meat products and is solving key scale-up challenges in the cashew apple supply chain.
PRODUCTION PLATFORM: Plant-based
TECHNOLOGY SECTOR: Crop development

Project aims
Could cashew apples be the next hot plant-based protein? This project aims to develop economically feasible technologies for transforming cashew apple waste into high-quality food. It explores a variety of uses for cashew apple in plant-based meats, characterizing its organoleptic properties as an ingredient input.
Increased adoption of cashew apple as an ingredient in plant-based meat could lower costs for plant-based meat production by more efficiently capturing value from a sidestream of cashew nut production. This work will also extend the shelf life and enhance the production of cashew apple fiber for plant-based meat applications.
Principal researcher

Dr. Ana Paula Dionisio
Researcher, EMBRAPA, Brazil
Dr. Dionisio heads a multidisciplinary team with demonstrated success in commercializing cashew-based products. She focuses her research on food science and biochemistry.
New ingredients for the plant-based market
Learn from Dr. Dionisio and Dr. Mellinger in this webinar presentation “Novos ingredientes para o mercado plant-based” (in Portuguese) from GFI Brazil’s webinar series.

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