PROSPER - PROduction of Spirulina Protein through PEF-Enhanced Recovery

在英国，转向替代蛋白质是实现净零的重要组成部分。我们已经取得了巨大的进步--在过去的十年里，英国的肉类消费量下降了17%，而替代蛋白质的消费量翻了一番。这对环境和人们的健康都是一个好消息。然而，在人工食品中取代动物蛋白并不是一项简单的任务。首先，蛋白质需要特定的性质：它们必须是可溶的，能够凝胶、乳化或起泡，才能作为有效的食品成分。它们还需要具有成本效益、营养和对环境的低影响。目前情况并非如此。绝大多数替代蛋白质都是进口的，就大豆而言，生产这些蛋白质对环境造成了巨大的损失。在Arborea，我们认为英国食品制造商应该能够获得当地生产的营养替代蛋白，具有他们需要的特性来提供消费者想要的产品。螺旋藻是一种高度营养的微藻，含有大量的可溶性蛋白质，这为这一挑战提供了解决方案。然而，目前的加工技术导致提取的提取物具有强烈的颜色和味道，需要进一步昂贵的后处理，并且只有部分有效。因此，尽管微藻具有许多优势，但作为大众市场食品配料的成功有限。在Prosper项目中，尖端生物工艺开发商Arborea正在与世界领先的食品生产专家Campden BRI合作应对这一挑战。我们已经确定了一种新的前处理技术，具有消除风味和颜色问题的潜力。然而，尽管这项技术在其他领域已经很成熟，但对其用于微藻的研究有限。在Innovate UK/UKRI的支持下，我们可以利用这项快速、低成本的技术来生产高纯度的可溶性蛋白质。我们将利用这个项目来优化生长、前处理和提取过程，以最大限度地提高产量和最大限度地降低成本。Arborea已经开发出世界上第一个“呼吸”生物反应器--BioSolar Leaf--它显著降低了微藻的生产成本。项目的成功将增加拼图的剩余部分，完成适合英国使用的端到端蛋白质制造解决方案，提供高度营养、低成本和消费者可接受的可溶性蛋白质，几乎不会对环境造成影响。通过直接生产和授权技术，Prosper将创造数百万英镑的英国价值链，取代不环保的蛋白质进口，并为英国消费者提供高质量、营养和负担得起的本土替代蛋白质。

Moving to alternative proteins is an essential part of achieving Net Zero in the UK. We are already making huge progress - Over the last decade, meat consumption in the UK has fallen 17% and alternative protein consumption has doubled. This is great news for both the environment and people's health.However, it is not a simple task to replace animal protein across manufactured food. First, proteins need certain properties: they must be soluble and able to gel, emulsify or foam, to act as effective food ingredients. They also need to be cost-effective, nutritious and have low environmental impact. This is not currently the case. The vast majority of alternative protein is imported and, in the case of soya, is produced at huge expense to the environment. At Arborea, we believe UK food manufacturers should have access to nutritious alternative proteins, locally produced, with the properties they need to deliver the products consumers want.Spirulina is a highly nutritious microalgae, high in soluble protein, which offers a solution to this challenge. However, current processing techniques result in an extract with strong colour and flavour, requiring further expensive and only partially effective postprocessing. As such, despite its many advantages, microalgae have achieved limited success as a mass-market food ingredient.In the PROSPER project, Arborea, a developer of cutting-edge bioprocesses, is collaborating with world-leading experts in food production, Campden BRI, to tackle this challenge. We have identified a novel pre-processing technique with the potential to eliminate flavour and colour issues. However, although this technique is well-established in other fields, limited research has been done into its use with microalgae. With support from Innovate UK/UKRI, we can capitalise on the promise of this rapid, low-cost technology for producing high purity soluble proteins. We will use this project to optimise the growth, pre-treatment and extraction processes to maximise yield and minimise cost.Arborea has developed the world's first 'breathing' bioreactor -- the BioSolar Leaf -- which significantly reduces production costs of microalgae. Project success will add the remaining piece of the jigsaw to complete an end-to-end protein manufacturing solution suitable for use in the UK, delivering highly nutritious, low-cost and consumer acceptable soluble proteins with almost zero environmental impact.By producing directly and licensing the technology, PROSPER will create a multi-million pound UK value chain, displace environmentally unsound protein imports and provide UK consumers with a high quality, nutritious and affordable home-grown alternative protein.