Food technology start-up Gavan Technologies has announced a new plant-based fat solution, FaTRIX, designed to replicate the functionality of animal fat.

Based in Israel, Gavan offers plant-based protein extraction technology as an alternative to traditional animal-derived products. Leveraging this technology, the company has delivered FaTRIX, described by Gavan as an ‘excellent alternative’ to butter and other commonly used fats in a variety of bakery products.

According to the company, its patented, plant-based fat-protein matrix is fully sustainable, clean label and slashes saturated fat by up to 80%. It is also trans-fat-free.

In a statement announcing the solution, Gavan said that producers of plant-based foods are aware of the ‘immense impact of fat on the culinary experience’. Aroma, flavour, tenderness and overall mouthfeel of foods are largely a function of lipids, which typically make up from ten to 40% of a product, Gavan highlighted.

FaTRIX is composed of three natural ingredients: the extracted protein acts as a base upon which plant oil and water are bound, creating a protein-enriched texturized fat.

Traditional plant oils, such as olive or sunflower oil, possess low retention capacity and are prone to release during baking, leading to a loss of tenderness. Firmer tropical oils such as palm and coconut oils, have high saturated fat content, can impact flavour, and are subject to volatile supply chains. These factors are driving the search for alternative solutions that can provide similar functional qualities to animal fats, Gavan said.

Uri Jeremias, co-founder of Gavan Technologies said that the composition of oil, water and protein in FaTRIX delivers “superior” binding and cooking abilities, ideal for food formulators.

Jeremias said: “FaTRIX boasts a high melting point and fat-holding capacity, preventing it from leaching during processing or heating. These properties are crucial to maintaining the succulence and tenderness of the final product. Moreover, it acts as a carrier for flavours, vitamins, and beneficial omega-3.”

Gavan’s protein extraction technology is designed to extricate the plant’s full value, leaving none of its components redundant while maintaining the integrity of the protein’s peptide structure.

The composition of oil and protein ingredients used in a formulation as well as their ratios can be specifically tailored to the food application needs. Gavan co-founder and CEO Itai Cohen explained that the platform works with all plant oil types.

Cohen said: “Despite the widespread use of vegetable fats as an alternative, they still cannot match the characteristic taste, texture, and smoothness that real butter confers. Replacing animal fat with plant-based oils can create difficulties due to the fluid nature of these ingredients, yet hydrogenated oils are a less-than-ideal solution.”

Gavan said pilot trials of its fat matrix in were successful in multiple bakery products, and the company is now introducing the solution to the bakery industry. In one trial, FaTRIX replaced butter in a ‘soft and airy’ brioche, yielding a five-fold reduction in saturated fat, Gavan reported. Jeremias described the brioche trial as a ‘pivotal achievement’ due to butter being long considered ‘irreplaceable’ in brioches.

He concluded: “FaTRIX is a solution that boasts the same workability as dairy butter, without needing a long list of added ingredients.”

#baking #Dairyalternatives #GavanTechnologies #Israel