FoStrFiber: Food Structural design by Fibers

With support of:

The development of scientifically substantiated, fibre-based strategies to modulate the structure, texture, and nutritional quality of food products, with applications for both the general population and specific target groups.

Why this project?

The texture of food products is crucial for consumer satisfaction, safety, and health. Today, desired textures in liquid and semi-solid foods are mainly achieved using starch- and gum-based thickeners. However, these conventional solutions present significant challenges: they increase caloric and digestible carbohydrate intake, do not always align with clean label expectations, and may negatively impact safe food intake, nutritional status, and digestive comfort, particularly for vulnerable groups such as individuals with dysphagia, young children, and the elderly.

In addition, food companies face the challenge of developing healthier and more sustainable products, with maximum valorisation of plant-based raw materials and side streams. Currently, there is a lack of fundamental knowledge on how plant fibres, both intrinsically present in fruits and vegetables and derived from side streams, can be purposefully used to tailor food structure, nutritional value, and digestibility.

The FoStrFiber project addresses these challenges by developing new fibre-based strategies for food structuring. It aims to identify solutions that simultaneously contribute to health, sustainability, and applicability in both the food industry and healthcare settings.

Research approach and expected results

FoStrFiber is a cSBO project that combines fundamental and applied research across five core work packages. The project is built around two complementary food structuring strategies. On the one hand, in situ structuring is investigated by leveraging the endogenous fibre potential of fruits and vegetables through targeted processing approaches. On the other hand, exogenous structuring focuses on the development and evaluation of innovative fibres derived from plant-based side streams as alternatives to conventional thickeners. The performance of these novel fibres will be benchmarked against traditional starch- and gum-based thickening agents.

In addition, the impact of these structuring strategies on human health will be assessed, with particular attention to the in vitro digestibility of proteins. A state-of-the-art analysis of existing thickening agents, including their current use and limitations, will further support the alignment of the research with real-world needs and application contexts.

The research approach includes advanced compositional and microstructural analyses, rheological and tribological texture measurements, storage and regeneration studies, and in vitro digestion models tailored to both the general population and specific target groups (e.g. individuals with dysphagia or young children). Promising concepts will be validated and scaled up in pilot environments, including industrial kitchens.

By the end of the project, FoStrFiber will deliver insights into alternative food structuring strategies, as well as reference texture maps and validated application cases to support companies and healthcare institutions in developing healthier, more sustainable, and target group-specific food products.

Target group

The results of FoStrFiber are relevant for:

Suppliers of food ingredients and fibre-based solutions.
Processors of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and potatoes interested in side stream valorisation.
Producers of soups, sauces, purées, and ready meals.
Manufacturers of foods for individuals with swallowing difficulties (dysphagia).
Healthcare institutions and industrial kitchens (hospitals, residential care centres).
Research and innovation partners active in food, health, and sustainability.

Project partners

Flanders’ FOOD manages and coordinates the project. The scientific execution is carried out by:

KU Leuven, Laboratory of Food Technology (LFT) - Prof. Dr. Ann Van Loey, Prof. Dr. Tara Grauwet, Prof. Dr. Sarah Verkempinck
VIVES University of Applied Sciences, Research Group Food Processing and Health Promotion - Prof. Dr. An Callens

Participation

Interested in joining? Good news: it is still possible to become a member of the industrial advisory board and secure a front-row position in accessing new insights generated by the researchers.