Making plant-based food tastier and more nutritious

The flavour of some plant-based dairy alternatives may not always appeal to consumers, and nutritional profiles can fall short of animal-based equivalents. Now, a new scientific review explores how fermentation with lactic acid bacteria may help address these challenges.

In the study, DTU National Food Institute and Novonesis researchers examine existing literature to highlight how lactic acid bacteria — particularly those naturally adapted to plant-based raw materials — can play a pivotal role in developing more palatable and functional plant-based fermented dairy alternatives (PBFDA).

While the study focused specifically on plant-based dairy alternatives, the researchers believe the findings could also be relevant for other alternative food products with similar challenges.

“Our review of the current research shows that fermentation with lactic acid bacteria can improve flavour perception and help make products more nutritionally complete,” said Claus Heiner Bang-Berthelsen, Senior Researcher at DTU National Food Institute.

Many plant-based ingredients naturally contain flavour compounds that consumers perceive as unpleasant. These compounds — often aldehydes, ketones and tannins — are by-products of the plant’s metabolism and can be difficult to remove without negatively affecting the rest of the product. According to the researchers, specific strains of lactic acid bacteria can convert these unwanted compounds into neutral or less perceivable flavour compounds. The result is a product that more closely resembles traditional fermented dairy products in both taste and aroma.

Another challenge with plant-based dairy alternatives is their anti-nutrient content, which negatively influences the body’s absorption of essential minerals like iron, zinc and calcium, or affects protein digestibility. Anti-nutrients bind to these minerals, making them inaccessible to the body. As a result, products may contain iron or zinc on paper but still fail to meet nutritional needs.

The researchers found that fermentation with lactic acid bacteria can help degrade several anti-nutritional compounds. Certain bacterial strains produce enzymes that can break down these complex molecules, thereby increasing the bioavailability of nutrients in the final product.

“We see food fermentation as a platform technology that can support the creation of alternative foods which taste better and have higher nutritional value, allowing the use of more sustainable raw materials,” said Guillermo-Eduardo Sedó Molina, PhD student at DTU National Food Institute.

Existing microbial solutions were found to be able to improve the quality and enhance the nutritional value of plant-based products — but researchers stressed that not all lactic acid bacteria are equally suited for this task. Success depends on knowledge of bacterial strains, raw materials and fermentation processes.

Bacteria originally isolated from milk are typically adapted to animal-based environments, whereas those derived from plants or plant-based foods have an evolutionary advantage in handling plant substrates. Through natural selection, these strains have developed the ability to utilise plant sugars and degrade complex plant compounds — making them ideal starter cultures for plant-based fermented products.

In summary, the key findings of the study include:

• Lactic acid bacteria can reduce off-flavours in plant-based fermented products.
• They can degrade anti-nutritional compounds and enhance the absorption of minerals such as iron and zinc.
• Lactic acid bacteria found in plants are especially well-suited to ferment plant-based milks because they have been genetically adapted to grow in plant environments.
• The findings are also relevant for other alternative foods where off-flavours influence consumer acceptance, for example, insect-based products.

The findings of this scientific review have been published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, March 2025.

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