Developing shear cell technology
2020-2022
Dr. Dekkers is tipping the balance in gastronomy and using shear cell technology to generate whole cuts of meat directly from plants.
PRODUCTION PLATFORM: Plant-based
TECHNOLOGY SECTOR: End product formulation and manufacturing
Project aims
This project is focused on producing three new innovative whole-cut food products using shear cell technology. It is developing what could be the world’s first commercially viable shear cell machine for use by local food entrepreneurs.
This work will expand the plant-based meat product category to include whole-cut products. It will also advance our understanding of shear cell technology and its potential use in other plant-based meat production.
Principal researcher
Dr. Birgit Dekkers
Co-founder and CEO, Rival Foods, the Netherlands
Dr. Dekkers is a leading researcher on shear cell technology for structuring plant proteins, with experience developing commercial applications of this technology. She maintains strong collaborations with academic research teams.
Rival Foods
Check out the Rival Foods website for more information about this research and the future of shear cell technology.
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Explore research opportunities
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Cultivated
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Fermentation
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Plant-Based
Hybrid products to optimize nutrition, taste, cost, and sustainability
Hybrid products are a promising means to improve the cost and sustainability of animal-derived meat while improving the taste of plant proteins. Promoting the health benefits of hybrids may facilitate…
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Cultivated
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Fermentation
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Plant-Based
Scientist / engineer outreach and education
To expand the technical talent pipeline, various players in the alternative protein field should reach out to scientists and engineers in relevant disciplines (e.g., biotech, biopharma, and food science) to…
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Cultivated
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Fermentation
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Plant-Based
Life Cycle Assessment for alternative seafood relative to conventional fishing and aquaculture
To date, no robust environmental assessments have been conducted to compare alternative seafood to its conventional counterparts. An open-access, quantitative analysis of the relative environmental impacts of alternative seafood will…
Dr. Dekkers’ seminar presentation
Watch Dr. Dekkers present on shear cell technology in our Science of Alt Protein seminar series.
