Kerry, the world’s leading taste and nutrition company, will outline the issues and challenges involved in protecting the freshness and taste of plant-based meat products in an upcoming webinar.

Food protection and preservation 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. To help product developers in dealing with the food safety challenges of alternative plant proteins, an informative educational webinar—entitled The Business of Alt Protein: Unlocking Food Safety in Plant-based Meat—will be held on April 23 at 12 noon EDT to delve into the exceptional changes being witnessed across the food and beverage landscape as plant proteins rise to the forefront.

Attendees will hear food protection experts from Kerry Taste & Nutrition discuss food safety and preservation challenges specific to alternative proteins and offer strategies on how to convert those challenges into actionable insights that maintain safety while protecting taste and flavor during the product’s shelf life. “No additive/preservatives” is a strong positioning for plant-based meats globally, with the claim being featured in 16% of new product launches in 2020. The webinar will discuss how to implement consumer-friendly food protection and preservation solutions in plant-based products that meet consumers’ desires for health, wellness and sustainability with real ingredients while protecting flavor and shelf life. 

Some of the challenges to be addressed include the following:

• Why food protection in plant-based alternatives is important and why consumer-friendly ingredients are key.
• When to build food protection into your formulations and products to quickly and successfully go to market.
• How food protection works to get your products out of the freezer and into the refrigerator while ensuring quality throughout their shelf life.

Speakers
Emma Cahill leads Strategic Marketing for Kerry’s global Food Protection & Preservation businesses. She has been with Kerry for four years working in Ireland and the United States. Emma holds a BSc in Agricultural Science and an MSc in International Marketing Practice, both from University College in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to joining Kerry, Emma held roles of increasing responsibility in the sports medical industry based in London and promoting Irish food and beverage companies in France through Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board). Emma challenges herself to uncover new consumer insights, and then partners with her technical colleagues to translate these insights into the next innovation for the rapidly growing, consumer-friendly food protection area.

Jennifer Wasieleski is the RD&A Director for the Food Protection & Preservation department at Kerry in Beloit, Wisconsin. Jennifer leads a team focused on developing clean-label solutions to replace chemical preservatives in a wide variety of food products. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in food science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Renetta Cooper is the Technical Business Development Director for Kerry’s Food Protection & Preservation group. She’s been with Kerry for eight years and enjoys using her experience in the area of food safety to assist food processors in removing chemical preservatives and replacing them with clean-label alternatives. Renetta holds a bachelor’s degree in Medical Microbiology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Registration for Kerry’s The Business of Alt Protein: Unlocking Food Safety in Plant-based Meat—webinar can be accessed here.  https://gfi.org/event/the-business-of-alt-protein-unlocking-food-safety-in-plant-based-meat/