Ag Tech News - Unigrain launches plant protein processing facility

By Unigrain

State-of-the-art Pulse Fractionation Facility

The facility will have the capability to produce a range of plant based food ingredients, with the initial key focus on pea and faba bean protein concentrates. The facility once complete will be the first fully integrated pulse milling and fractionation process in Australia, and the first to utilise dry protein extraction technology which is being designed and engineered in Germany.  

“Manufactured from locally grown pulses without the aid of water or chemical treatment, we are particularly proud of the high benchmark we are looking to set for the environmental sustainability of our products”, stated Co-CEO Fiona May. 

Highly versatile pea and faba bean protein ingredients

At initial capacity, the Smeaton site are aiming to utilise over 40,000MT of field peas and faba beans per annum, with significant scope to further scale up the site as the market continues to grow.

Capitalising on the increased demand for alternative protein sources, Unigrain’s protein products will be highly versatile. Pea and faba bean proteins have a wide range of food based applications in Australia, most notably within the bakery, snacks & cereals, and fast growing plant based meat sector.  

Co-CEO Andrew May stated that, “Consumers are increasingly turning to pulse based proteins are part of a broader emphasis on health, lifestyle and the environment. We are thrilled to be a part of Australia’s journey in the alterative protein sector and help facilitate the development of the Australian supply chain”.  

“As part of our initial product expansion, work is also underway with the intention of developing a broader range of fractionated cereal and pulse products into the future, including across lentils, chickpeas and oats”, stated Co-CEO Fiona May.

Construction of the facility is set to commence in early 2022 with full scale production set to be underway in mid-2022.

https://unigrain.com.au/