Project aims
This project will help develop a low-energy extrusion process to produce highly-functional plant fibers for whole-cut applications. The outcome would leverage self-aggregating proteins to improve the sustainability and quality of extruded products. Overall, this work would inform future refinements to extrusion processes and would contribute to the scalable production of improved whole-cut plant-based meat.
Principal researcher

Dr. Lutz Grossmann
Assistant professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Dr. Grossmann has expertise in food material science, especially focusing on the development of next-generation alternative proteins. He has investigated plant protein processing and structuring principles of proteins.
Constructing next-generation meat, fish, milk, and egg analogs
In collaboration with a fellow GFI grantee (Dr. Julian McClements), Dr. Grossman has published a peer-reviewed analysis that summarizes the current science of plant-based food production and highlights areas of needed research.
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Creating fiber-like structures
Learn how GFI grantee Dr. David Julian McClements is developing an alternative to extrusion for producing plant-based meat at the University of Massachusetts.

Integrating sensors into extrusion
Learn about Dr. Filiz Koksel’s work at the University of Manitoba to integrate sensors into plant-based meat extrusion.

Microstructure engineering
Learn about GFI grantee Dr. Mario Martinez’s work at the University of Guelph engineering microstructures for whole-muscle plant-based meat.

Stacking plant protein sheets
Learn about Dr. Hanry Yu’s research to recreate the texture of thick animal meats by stacking layers of plant protein sheets at A*STAR.
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
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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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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…
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