Kerry has released and posted online an educational webinar entitled: The Business of Alt Protein: Unlocking Food Safety in Plant-based Meat. The webinar discusses “the changes being witnessed across the food and beverage landscape as plant proteins rise to the forefront”. 

Food protection and preservation, Kerry says, is about protecting and perfecting the freshness, taste and safety of foods and beverages and this standard applies to plant-based meats as much as it does to traditional meat. 

In the webinar, listeners heard food protection experts discuss food safety and preservation challenges specific to alternative proteins, and strategies on how to convert those challenges into actionable insights that maintain safety while also protecting taste and flavour during the product’s shelf life. 

No additive/preservatives is a growing part of plant-based meat marketing globally, with the claim being featured in 16% of product launches in 2020. Implementing clean label food preservation solutions in plant-based products that meet consumers’ desires for cleaner labels is also discussed in the webinar. 

Some of the challenges addressed in the webinar include why food protection in plant-based alternatives is important and why consumer-friendly ingredients are key; when to build food protection into formulations and products to go to market quickly. 

The speakers included Emma Cahill, Strategic Marketing, Food Protection & Preservation; Jennifer Wasieleski, RD&A Director, Food Protection & Preservation; and Renetta Cooper, Technical Business Development Director, Food Protection & Preservation.