PhD Oral Defense: Effects of novel processing techniques on proteins in plant-based alternative milk beverages

PhD Oral Defense of Sai Kranthi Kumar Vanga, Bioresource Engineering.

There is no doubt that the educated consumers today are looking for foods that are ‘fresh-like’ and minimally processed to replace the traditional processed foods. As the demand for these products is increasing, industries and researchers are scrambling to use non-thermal alternatives which include processing methods like ultrasonication and pulsed electric field processing. Though researchers have shown that these methods can meet the food safety standards, one of the significant question that must be answered is regarding the impact of these non-thermal processing methods on various food components. Proteins are one of the major components present in most of the food products. They are vital for health and well-being of the human body. Moreover, they are also important as they play a crucial role in dictating the nutritional, organoleptic and functional properties of food products. Proteins and related enzymes are known to be sensitive to external stresses that can lead to deviations in their structural properties resulting in changes to their functional properties.

Cow’s milk has been a popular food commodity used for human consumption for decades. However, there has been a decline in demand for milk products due to a rise in the population suffering from milk allergy and lactose intolerance. Furthermore, consumers want to restrict animal products that have led to an increased demand for plant-based alternatives. In this study, we have evaluated the structural deviations of the proteins present in soymilk and almond milk.

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