New Research Project at TU Berlin Develops Standardization for Plant Protein Functionality

Why It Matters

Standardized functional measurements will reduce batch‑to‑batch variability, cutting costly product failures and accelerating innovation across the plant‑based food sector. SMEs, in particular, will gain access to reliable quality data without heavy in‑house testing.

Key Takeaways

• No universal standards for plant protein functionality.
• TU Berlin project creates measurable functional benchmarks.
• Toolkit addresses solubility, emulsifying, gelation, foaming.
• Standards aim for DIN/ISO inclusion, industry adoption.
• SMEs gain faster product development, lower testing costs.

Pulse Analysis

The plant‑based protein market has exploded, yet manufacturers constantly wrestle with unpredictable texture and performance. Unlike safety testing, where protocols such as ISO 6579 for Salmonella are universally accepted, functional attributes like foaming capacity or gel strength are measured with disparate methods. This lack of a common language stems from the intrinsic variability of legumes and oilseed proteins, which shift with cultivar, climate, harvest year and storage conditions. Consequently, product developers often face batch‑to‑batch inconsistencies that can derail launches or demand extensive raw‑material screening.

The three‑year TU Berlin‑Hohenheim consortium, headed by Prof. Dr. Stephan Drusch, tackles the gap by creating a standardized methodology toolkit. The suite quantifies solubility, emulsifying ability, gelation and foaming under controlled pH, ionic strength and thermal regimes, and is calibrated for low‑processed flours through highly purified isolates. By aligning the protocols with practical industrial settings, the team aims to embed the methods into future DIN or ISO standards, providing a repeatable quality‑control framework that can be adopted by laboratories worldwide. An industrial advisory board ensures the procedures remain relevant to real‑world production.

Adopting these standards promises immediate business value. Producers can precisely match protein batches to applications—whether stabilizing a vegan latte foam or forming a resilient dessert gel—thereby reducing waste, shortening development cycles and lowering testing expenses. Small and medium‑sized enterprises, which typically lack dedicated analytical teams, stand to benefit most, gaining access to comparable data without heavy investment. Moreover, a unified measurement language will enable seamless data aggregation across research institutions and companies, unlocking large‑scale analytics and fostering faster innovation throughout the plant‑protein ecosystem.