Faba bean protein concentrate can replace animal blood plasma in some wet pet food formulations, although the amount depends on the product’s texture requirements, according to trials presented at CIPAL in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Maygane Ronsmans, product manager animal nutrition at BENEO, discussed the ingredient’s potential during her Sept. 23 presentation. The supplier’s trials examined both protein concentrate in wet food and starch-rich flour in extruded kibble.
For manufacturers, the findings suggest opportunities to diversify ingredients while maintaining product structure. However, results differed between pâté and chunks in gravy, highlighting the importance of testing substitutions in individual formulations.
“That’s why in our trial we tested whether the faba protein could be also an alternative to the plasma, bringing similar technological benefits,” Ronsmans said.
BENEO commissioned technical trials through Passion4Food, a pet food industry service provider. Initial tests used a high-protein pâté recipe containing 2% plasma. Researchers evaluated full replacement with faba bean protein concentrate and partial replacement using 1% plasma and 1% concentrate.
Ronsmans reported similar product appearance and binding performance, with no significant differences in hardness or adhesiveness. Follow-up testing used a recipe closer to commercial wet food formulations and again supported full or partial replacement. BENEO’s published account of the trials also reported that replacing half the plasma with pea protein concentrate reduced loaf hardness, while faba bean protein concentrate maintained the measured texture properties.
The findings concerned processing performance in the tested recipes; they did not establish that the ingredients were interchangeable across all nutritional or functional attributes.
Different limits emerged in chunks in gravy. Starting with a recipe containing 3% plasma, the trials tested replacement of 25%, 50% or 100% of that plasma with faba bean protein concentrate.
Ronsmans said the faba-containing chunks appeared more spongy, which she attributed to starch in the concentrate. The ingredient also reduced shrinkage during steam cooking. At 25% replacement, firmness did not differ significantly from the plasma control.
Higher replacement levels produced softer chunks. For manufacturers seeking to maintain a similar texture, Ronsmans recommended replacing approximately 25% to 30% of the plasma in that application.
The presentation also examined the starch-rich flour produced alongside the protein concentrate through dry fractionation, which separates components of the beans.
In grain-free kibble trials, partial or complete replacement of pea starch with faba bean starch-rich flour did not significantly change expansion, Ronsmans reported.
“So when we replace partially or fully the pea starch with the fava starch, no significant differences in expansion,” she said.
A formulation containing 35% faba bean starch-rich flour behaved differently, producing substantially more expanded kibble with smaller, more evenly distributed pores. That result illustrated how increasing inclusion beyond a straightforward starch substitution could change the finished product and its processing requirements.
Ronsmans linked the ingredients’ sustainability positioning to the crop’s nitrogen-fixing ability, contracted sourcing and dry processing. She also discussed potential formulation savings, although those calculations depended on ingredient prices and replacement levels.
For pet food manufacturers, the presentation’s practical distinction was between applications: full plasma replacement maintained measured texture properties in the tested pâtés, while chunks in gravy required a more limited substitution to preserve firmness. The starch-rich fraction offered another formulation option, with inclusion level influencing kibble expansion.
