EIT Food UNDERPRESSURE
Pressure for healthier and more natural fat-based foods
Context and problem to be solved: fat-reduced and clean(er) label products
Obesity is a relevant public health problem that increases the risk of chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes). The 50 % Europeans are overweight and the 10-30 % are obese (WHO). Fat intake is directly related to weight problems.
Consumers’ awareness about fat intake has increased. In food emulsions, such as sauces and creams, fat reduction is achieved by its substitution by fat replacers (e.g. modified starch).
Most of them are E-numbers which are described in the label. Non-clean/non-natural label decrease consumers’ confidence in the food industry.
Moreover, fat-replacers do not impart the same sensory properties as fat (40% consumers consider “light” goods have a poorer taste than full-fat ones). Both aspects have prevented the market success of reduced-fat emulsions.
underPRESSURE solution
underPRESSURE project will scale-up a technological solution based on ultra high pressure homogenisation (UHPH) to produce fat-based products, like sauces and patisserie ingredients, addressing these consumer demands.
Safe foods with lower fat content (fat reduction >30 %) and reduced use of additives (clean(er) label) will be developed, maintaining or even improving their sensory characteristics and stability compared to the full-fat conventional counterparts.
In order to assure a consumer driven project, consumers will be engaged from the creation to the sensory validation of these food products, ensuring to meet their expectations.
Project Data
| Partners |
AZTI (SP, Technical leader), Ypsicon (SP), Acesur (SP), Faunhofer IVV (GE), Puratos (BE) |
| Funding |
UE – EIT Food – KAVA – Innovation Programme |
| Length |
January 2019 – March 2021 |
