Dr. Fernanda Dias is an Assistant Professor of Analytical and Food Chemistry at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota. Dr. Dias obtained her Ph.D. in Food Science and postdoctoral training in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Campinas, Brazil. She also was a postdoctoral scholar in Food Science at the University of California, Davis (UC-Davis). Her research focuses on the use of lipidomic approaches to investigate the chemical transformations of foods as a function of lipid oxidation and the effects of processing and storage on markers of oil quality. Her research seeks to shed new light on how processing and storage affect the formation of oxidized lipid products and the formation of off-flavor in foods. The overall goal of her research is the use of analytical techniques and chemometrics tools to guide the development of environmentally friendly strategies to produce the next generation of health-promoting food ingredients.

Presentation Description

Due to the increasing world population and consumer desire for sustainable and nutritious protein sources, the food industry is currently experiencing tremendous pressure to develop innovative, sensorially acceptable, health-promoting plant-based products. However, increasing plant protein utilization is challenged by its intrinsic off-flavor that limits consumer acceptance. Since sensory perception plays a major role in consumer acceptance and eating habits, the development of new process strategies to remove and or reduce off-flavor in plant protein products is imperative to enhance its consumption and use. In this presentation, we will delve into the intricacies of flavor and off-flavor development in plant proteins, while also exploring effective strategies to address and mitigate these challenges.