Bunge partners NTU Singapore new food flavours through fermentation

SINGAPORE – Global agribusiness and food company, Bunge has partnered with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore to research and produce new food flavours through fermentation.

The research collaboration, which is the first successful partnership under the Singapore Agri-food Innovation Lab (SAIL), will enable Bunge to develop the new flavours by leveraging the research capabilities and technologies at NTU’s Food Science and Technology Programme (FST).

Umami, which means “pleasant savoury taste” in Japanese. It is recognised scientifically as one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. Its characteristic savoury and meaty flavour profile enhances the taste of food by adding depth and richness.

According to Bunge, the new flavours, which will be used in alternative protein and plant-based protein products.

NTU’s FST, led by its Director, Professor William Chen, will be employing a technology called solid-state fermentation (SSF), which is more cost-effective than conventional fermentation techniques, as it uses fewer resources such as water and electricity.

One of Prof Chen’s innovations is a probiotic ice cube that can be added to drinks to improve one’s gut health. It was jointly developed with ice supplier Uni-Tat Ice and Marketing and commercialised earlier in 2020.

Funded by Enterprise Singapore (ESG), SAIL aims to enhance the agri-food innovation ecosystem by connecting solution providers with multinational corporations, which are looking for market-driven solutions.

Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, who officiated at the launch of the platform at NTU in 2021, said that Sail will take current R&D initiatives further by addressing the innovation needs of players in Singapore’s agricultural industry.

He noted that the platform has identified four areas of focus: sustainability, agri-food productivity and quality, digitalisation of business operations, and product R&D.

Sail onboarded 22 industry partners including Bunge, a global agri-commodities merchant which has sought to leverage Singapore’s “robust R&D ecosystem” to develop plant-based protein solutions for Asian consumers, Mr. Gan said.

SAIL engages with corporate partners to understand and analyse the key problems faced by companies, and from there, comes up with a range of possible solutions, said the platform’s co-director Boh Wai Fong, deputy dean of Nanyang Business School.

Sail also aims to commercialise research innovations, such as the plant-based mayonnaise created by FST, where the egg ingredient is replaced with plant-based protein powder, which is made from a food processing side-stream that has high nutritional value. 

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