Solanic unlocks the potential of the humble potato at new plant

Avebe subsidiary Solanic will score an industry first in October when it becomes the first business to start commercial production of high performance proteins from potato juice.

The company, which has invested a "significant sum" in the new protein extraction plant at the Avebe starch factory in Gasselternijveen, The Netherlands, is working with manufacturers of everything from yoghurts to whipping cream that are keen to try the new proteins, said Solanic boss Frank Goovaerts. "We've always known that potatoes contained protein; the difficulty has been extracting it in a way that maintains its quality and functionality.

"Historically, therefore, it's only been used for animal feed. But we have discovered a way of keeping that quality, which is extremely exciting because it's never been done at scale before.We've filed patents for the manufacturing process, which enables us to develop several fractions offering customers a viable, clean-label alternative to animal protein."

Solanic was also working with Dutch life sciences firm Skintec to explore cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications for the proteins, he said."They also have potential as satiety agents."