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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Comprehension and food analysis of a fermented mixture of animal proteins and vegetable proteins : influence on the physico-chemistry and the acceptability of the obtained products

subject

description

Many problems have been identified following the attempts to incorporate vegetal proteins in our food. In particular, off-flavor, taste or texture have been highlighted as real barriers to the acceptability of plant products by consumers. The consumer himself is also an important determinant regarding the term "acceptability." So, in order to develop a new fermented product based on pea, two issues were studied: the product and the consumer. To understand the physico-chemical properties and the acceptability of pea protein-based fermented products, several factors have been investigated in successive stages such as culture, positive health and environmental claims, lactic acid bacteria strains and preparation processes. From the first sensory tests, it was clear that it will not be easy to convince consumers to buy the pea-based fermented product: French consumers did not accept products even in a lower concentration of pea (10%). Neither the familiarity to close products nor encouraging consumers to accept this type of food by transmitting positive messages about vegetal protein were efficient enough. Thus, a second series of studies was carried out in order to optimize the rheologic and organoleptic properties of these products. Best combination of 1- starter culture (S. thermophilus + Lb. bulgaricus) 2- raw material (pea globulin isolated in our laboratory) 3- preparation parameters (mixing both milk before heat treatment at 90 ° C) were selected to optimize the fermented products in terms of volatile compounds and peptide profiles, acidity and firmness. Finally, from the sensory point of view, a slight improvement in the acceptability was noticed. 20% of pea protein gave a product accepted by most of the consumers, and 40% of pea protein was assessed positively by some consumers and negatively by others