Protein Alternatives & Plant-Based Foods

With protein alternatives and plant-based foods growing in popularity, manufacturers are exploring new formulations and engineering new processes to develop products that meet consumer demand for taste, texture, and price. Effective filtration management is a critical step in moving from research and development to successful commercial production.

New ingredients such as soybean roots, mushroom stems, fungal spores, and other plant-based sources often require new production processes and the addition of fermentation. Proper filtration plays a critical role in micro-biological processing to achieve desired characteristics. While processes continue to develop and evolve, food manufacturers will always be required to meet food production safety regulations. Donaldson’s expertise in implementing filtration solutions in the highly regulated food and biotechnology sectors can help you achieve standards now and help protect your processes in the future.

An engineered filtration solution helps enable manufacturers to meet their production goals while staying in regulatory compliance. Donaldson’s line of LifeTec™ filter elements is designed for applications that require liquid, sterile air, and steam filtration to help optimize the processing of food and beverages, including plant-based products.

Sterile Media for Fermentation — Sterile filtration for liquid media feeds, whether it is a standard sugar-based feedstock, a nutrient solution, basal medium, or something completely new. Microfiltration is often a more cost-effective and reliable solution than other sterilization methods.

Culinary Steam — Used for SIP (steam-in-place) cleaning for equipment without disassembly – including bioreactors. Can also be used for cooking, heating, and general process steam. No matter the application, culinary steam needs to be particulate-free to protect equipment and product.

Process and Ingredient Water — Water is a significant part (by volume and importance) of plant-based products, whether it is alternative milk, dairy, or meats. Process water indirectly contacts the final product (e.g., equipment cleaning, rinsing, etc.) while ingredient water is directly part of the final ingredient. Filtration needs for process and ingredient water range from particulate-free to sterile.

Sterile Air and Gas for Processed Food and Beverage Applications — Air and gas filtration to remove water, oil, and particulate. Point-of-use filtration of air and gas is a critical part of protecting bioprocesses. Needs to be both particulate- and contaminant-free.

Cultivated and Fermented Foods — Under the Solaris brand, Donaldson specializes in fermenters and bioreactors customized to meet the needs of your product, whether it is a fermented protein or cultivated meat. Solaris brand products range from lab-scale capacities of 120 mL all the way through full industrial solutions of 30,000+ Liters.