Media releaseFebruary, 2021
The Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) has welcomed Australia’s longest-established plant-based health-food manufacturer, Sanitarium Health Food Company™, into its consortium of industry, government and research partners.
Australia’s iconic brand is set to work with UNSW food-technology specialists in CRC projects to improve the functional properties of plant-based Sanitarium products including Barista dairy-free milks.
Future Food Systems is a national initiative funded as part of the Australian Government’s CRC Program to boost Australia’s capacity to compete in booming global markets for healthy food products with strong sustainability credentials.
CRC partner, UNSW, will work with Sanitarium to develop innovative plant-based protein products, starting with its Barista dairy-free milk range.
The plant-based milks, which come in almond, soy and, most recently, oat varieties, are designed for and marketed to Australia’s food-service industry under the brand The Alternative Dairy Co.™.
“Sanitarium’s new Barista plant-based milks are in high demand in the café sector in Australia and New Zealand,” said Paul Ginn, General Manager – Development & Innovation at Sanitarium.
“With the team at Future Food Systems we are investing in the development of a method to quantitatively measure the ‘stretchiness’ of the foam produced by our Barista milks to continue offering the best experience possible, and provide a method to assess the performance of different plant-based milks.”
The project, scheduled to commence in February 2021, will be helmed by the CRC’s Research and Commercialisation Director Cordelia Selomulya, a Professor in UNSW Sydney’s School of Chemical Engineering and a leading expert in the field of advanced dairy formulations.
Professor Selomulya and the UNSW Sydney project team will work with Sanitarium’s research team at the company’s Cooranbong R&D site, using state-of-the-art food-processing methods and technologies to evaluate, then improve key functional attributes of the oat and almond varieties of the Barista ‘alternative milks’.
“We are addressing very specific technical challenges aimed at optimising the creaminess, ‘silkiness’ and foaming performance of these products for The Alternative Dairy Co and its customers,” Prof. Selomulya said.
“The research challenge is that because the products are low in fats and free from additives such as synthetic stabilisers and emulsifiers, we have to understand how these ingredients in the Barista products interact with coffee in order to optimise their properties so they behave more like conventional dairy products.
“The team will employ advanced imaging technology to evaluate the oat and almond Barista milks, then use these evaluations to tweak the existing formulations and protocols, especially regarding creaminess and ‘stretchiness’.
“Our project team includes a food scientist who previously advised a leading appliances firm on milk-product formulations and protocols for its coffee machines,” Prof. Selomulya added.
Sanitarium expects that its participation in the CRC will lead to further research collaborations, including a potential four-year project with UNSW Sydney’s School of Chemical Engineering commencing in 2022.
“We are looking forward to seeing the benefits of collaborating with the deep expertise of the food engineering research within the UNSW Future Food Systems group on three projects across our flagship brands,” said Ginn.
“We are confident their expertise will offer solutions to ensure we can continue to bring quality health foods to our consumers.”
The partnership is a ‘natural fit’, noted Future Food Systems CRC CEO David Eyre.
“There is growing demand for plant-based protein products, and innovative companies like Sanitarium are leading the way,” Eyre said.
“The CRC model enables industry partners to cost-effectively access the expertise and laboratories of our university partners - in this case, the world-class team and facilities at UNSW.”