Work has begun on a new £6 million facility at Branston’s site in Lincolnshire, UK, that will be used to extract high-grade protein from potatoes.
Potato supplier Branston is working alongside agri-tech research and development company, B-hive Innovations, as part of a collaborative project which aims to improve potato crop utilisation.
The new facility will convert low-value potatoes into clean-label functional protein that can be used in vegetarian and plant-based foods. The factory will also produce starch-based products for a range of manufacturing applications.
According to Branston, the facility will be the first of its kind in the country and will incorporate bespoke technologies and capabilities to meet increasing demand for UK-grown plant-based ingredients.
“We’re delighted to be working with B-hive Innovations on this new venture. Most people are aware of potato starch and fibre in potatoes, but they don’t consider the highly nutritious protein fraction,” said managing director of Branston’s prepared foods division, Richard Fell, who is heading up the project.
“B-hive Innovations has been honing this technology for a number of years, working with a group of academic and industry partners and supported by Innovate UK. They have developed a process to gently extract and isolate high-grade proteins from potatoes.
“This means we have the potential to meet the growing requirements from food manufacturers for 100% plant-based protein that is free from allergens and is fully traceable from our UK-grown crops.”
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