Bühler announces sustainable protein development partnership with DIL

Bühler has announced a new partnership with the Deutsches Institut für Lebensmitteltechnik (DIL) to advance the development of sustainable protein products.

The DIL is a research institute focusing on food technology and food science based in Quakenbrück, Germany. The DIL campus in Quakenbrück features food safety labs, pilot plants and research capabilities, while over 200 scientists and technologists work at the facility.

Through the new partnership, Bühler and the DIL aim to develop new production technologies to enable the sustainable production of protein products, with the partnership predominantly focusing on plant-based proteins.

According to a statement from Bühler, the production of plant-based proteins has less of an environmental impact than traditional meat proteins.

Figures provided by the company assert that the world will have to produce more food from 35% less agricultural land to meet the needs of the world’s growing population by 2050 in a sustainable manner. The company claims that it is therefore essential to “explore and identify alternative and underused sources of protein and develop efficient technologies to convert these into attractive, marketable products.”

One highlighted method is extrusion, with Bühler claiming that the method enables the formation of texturised proteins with different structures from different raw materials. High-moisture extrusion, for example, enables the conversion of plant proteins into food products “with textures similar to meat”.

Ian Roberts, chief technology officer at Bühler, said: “If we are to feed 10 billion people in 2050 and if we are to be able to do this and mitigate the climate change increase that we currently see, we need to build strong partnerships with purpose and we need to build those in areas where we can drive major impact.”

Volker Heinz, director and CEO of DIL added: “We continuously try to achieve a better understanding of the structure and functionality of foods, which we consider is the key to innovative solutions for food processing.

“On this track, we are excited to have Bühler as a partner on our side. Together we will explore the many possibilities of technological interventions to get our food system on the track towards a sustainable future.”