PROPELLING HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH INNOVATIVE FOOD PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES

Project Information

Sustain-a-bite

Grant agreement ID: 101180399

DOI

10.3030/101180399

EC signature date 11 October 2024

Start date 1 October 2024

End date 31 March 2028

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 4 996 972,25

EU contribution

€ 4 996 972,25

Coordinated by

TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Sustain-a-bite (PROPELLING HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH INNOVATIVE FOOD PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES)

Reporting period: 2024-10-01 to 2026-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

SUSTAIN-A-BITE addresses the urgent need to transform Europe’s food systems towards healthier, more sustainable and affordable diets by developing innovative minimally processed plant-based foods and ingredients. Sustain-a-bite aims to demonstrate that healthier and more sustainable food products can also be affordable and attractive to consumers and suitable for large-scale production. The overall objective is to develop resource-efficient, clean-label food processing solutions that preserve the intrinsic nutritional value of plant raw materials while improving taste, texture, and functionality. The project combines non-thermal technologies such as Pulsed Electric Field (PEF), Ultrasound (US), and High Pressure Processing (HPP) with bioprocessing (fermentation and seed bioactivation). The aim is to create nutrient-rich plant-based ingredients and foods with significantly lower environmental impact than conventional refined protein isolate production. Sustain-a-bite targets at least 30% reduction in energy consumption, 50% reduction in water use, and close to 90% reduction in raw material losses compared with current industrial production routes for refined plant proteins. The project also aims to lower the cost of plant-based foods, potentially enabling consumer prices up to 25% lower than conventional meat and dairy alternatives. The project focuses on complete utilisation of plant raw materials and side streams in line with circular economy principles. Barley, chickpea, and faba bean are used together with apple, carrot, and tomato pomaces from food industry side streams. The project seeks to maximise the use of whole plant matrices rather than isolated protein fractions, thereby preserving fibre, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds often lost during conventional refining. A central ambition is to improve the nutritional quality and health effects of plant-based foods. Sustain-a-bite develops liquid, semi-solid, and solid food prototypes with enhanced protein digestibility, improved micronutrient bioavailability, and reduced levels of unhealthy components such as rapidly digestible starch, saturated fat, salt, and added sugars. The project also investigates how food structure and processing influence satiety, nutrient absorption, and gut microbiome composition to support healthier dietary patterns. Beyond technological innovation, Sustain-a-bite addresses social and behavioural dimensions of the food transition. Consumer studies across Europe investigate perceptions of food processing, cultural preferences, trust in novel technologies, and willingness to adopt minimally processed plant-based foods. The insights generated support communication and market introduction strategies tailored to different consumer segments. The project follows a strong multi-actor approach involving research organisations, universities, industry, SMEs, start-ups, consumer-oriented organisations, and stakeholders across the food value chain. AI and digital tools are also integrated to optimise processing efficiency, ingredient functionality and sustainability performance.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has achieved scientific and technical progress towards developing minimally processed, healthy and sustainable plant-based ingredients, and food prototypes based on barley, faba bean, chickpea, and fruit and vegetable pomaces. Activities focused on optimisation of co-(bio)processing technologies, ingredient and prototype development, nutritional and sustainability assessment, and consumer-oriented research. A key result was a databank documenting how minimal processing affects ingredient properties. Screening of germination, fermentation, PEF, US, HPP, and dry fractionation technologies demonstrated strong potential to improve nutritional quality and techno-functional performance of plant-based ingredients. Germination and fermentation increased beneficial compounds such as free amino acids, folates, GABA, antioxidants, and mineral bioavailability while reducing antinutritional factors including phytic acid and raffinose family oligosaccharides. Non-thermal processing technologies improved protein accessibility, matrix functionality, reducing antinutrients and microbial load. The project developed 7 innovative minimally processed food prototypes, including meat alternatives, fermented beverages, yoghurt and spreadable cheese alternatives, baked snacks, and non-fermented drinks. Initial analyses demonstrated improved nutritional quality with reduced phytate levels and increased antioxidant capacity. The project also focused on establishing scientific and methodological basis for investigating the processing–food matrix–health nexus of minimally processed plant-based foods. A desktop study was performed screening the current plant-based food market in Europe considering food products aimed for in the Sustain-a-bite project including beverages (milk alternatives, juices, smoothies), semi-liquids (yoghurt alternatives, spreadable cheese alternatives, paté-like spreads) and solids (cereal-based snacks, meat alternatives). The study provided targeted guides for food product development considering nutritional value. In addition, preparatory work for digestion, bioavailability, satiety, and gut microbiome studies was done. The project established methodological frameworks for sustainability assessment, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), multicriteria assessment, Bayesian Belief Network scenario modelling, and integrated food-system modelling approaches. Preliminary analyses highlighted the importance of processing choices for sustainability performance and provided a basis for future environmental and economic assessments. Evidence on consumer acceptance of minimally processed plant-based foods was generated through interviews and large-scale surveys conducted in 8 European countries. The findings supported prototype development and market strategy planning. Preparatory intervention studies on consumer uptake were initiated. The project successfully developed and validated innovative minimal processing concepts, generated high-value minimally processed ingredients and food prototypes, established sustainability and nutritional assessment methodologies, and produced robust scientific datasets supporting future optimisation and scale-up activities.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project provided insights that combinations of germination, fermentation, PEF, US and HPP can potentially produce nutritionally enhanced and functional plant-based ingredients while avoiding intensive refining approaches commonly used in current plant-based food production. Compared to conventional plant protein isolate production, the project demonstrated feasibility of low-intensity processing routes capable of improving nutritional quality, reducing antinutritional compounds, enhancing techno-functional properties, and supporting sustainability objectives simultaneously. An important advancement was the successful development of 7 minimally processed food prototypes integrating nutritional, sustainability, and consumer-oriented requirements. New scientific knowledge on consumer perceptions and acceptance of minimally processed plant-based foods across Europe were generated. The results have strong potential impacts in supporting the transition toward healthier and more sustainable food systems. The developed processing concepts may contribute to reducing water and energy consumption, increasing valorisation of food industry side streams, and enabling production of affordable plant-based foods with improved nutritional quality and consumer acceptance. The next project phases include further optimisation of the processing technologies, validation of nutritional and health impacts through digestion and bioavailability studies and completion of environmental and techno-economic assessments. Further work will support potential commercialisation pathways for the developed ingredients and food prototypes.