{"id":75850,"date":"2026-01-08T10:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leitat.org\/blog\/leitat-col%c2%b7labora-amb-la-uoc-en-una-investigacio-pionera-sobre-proteina-dinsecte-en-productes-alimentaris\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T10:46:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:46:53","slug":"leitat-collaborates-with-uoc-on-pioneering-research-into-insect-protein-in-food-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leitat.org\/en\/blog\/leitat-collaborates-with-uoc-on-pioneering-research-into-insect-protein-in-food-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Leitat collaborates with UOC on pioneering research into insect protein in food products"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"75850\" class=\"elementor elementor-75850 elementor-75838\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-90064d0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"90064d0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5bfe43e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5bfe43e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Leitat<\/strong> has collaborated on a study led by the <strong>Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)<\/strong> to explore the <strong>incorporation of insect protein into high-consumption foods, such as pasteurized dairy products<\/strong>. The research aimed to <strong>advance towards more sustainable, nutritious, and consumer-accepted dietary models<\/strong>.<\/p><p>The study, published in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/fsn3.70925\"><em>Food Science and Nutrition<\/em><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/\">Wiley<\/a>)<\/strong>, involved <strong>Montse Jorba<\/strong>, Area Manager, and <strong>Irina Chiriac<\/strong>, Principal Researcher, both from <strong>Leitat\u2019s<\/strong> Bioresources &amp; Agrifood Technologies Unit. This is the <strong>first tasting trial in the Mediterranean region using hydrolysates from mealworm (<em>Tenebrio molitor<\/em>)<\/strong>.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Leitat\u2019s contribution: technology and formulation to integrate insect protein<\/strong><\/p><p>Leitat\u2019s participation was key to making the integration of insect protein into a dairy food matrix feasible. Specifically, Leitat contributed its expertise in:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Processing and optimization of insect flour<\/strong>: Adjusting particle size and functional properties of <em>Tenebrio molitor<\/em> to enable homogeneous integration into products.<\/li><li><strong>Development of food formulations<\/strong>: Adapting product formulations to maintain stability, technological quality, and nutritional profile.<\/li><li><strong>Sensory stabilization<\/strong>: Working jointly with UOC to preserve texture, flavor, and mouthfeel, ensuring a pleasant and acceptable sensory experience for participants.<\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Towards more sustainable protein sources<\/strong><\/p><p>The research published in <em>Food Science &amp; Nutrition<\/em> has shown that insect protein derived from mealworm (<em>Tenebrio molitor<\/em>) can be successfully integrated into pasteurized dairy products without compromising quality or consumer acceptance.<\/p><p>The collaboration between <strong>UOC<\/strong> and <strong>Leitat<\/strong> highlights the value of multidisciplinary research in developing food solutions that are both highly nutritious and more sustainable.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leitat has collaborated on a study led by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) to explore the incorporation of insect protein into high-consumption foods, such as pasteurized dairy products. The research aimed to advance towards more sustainable, nutritious, and consumer-accepted dietary models. The study, published in Food Science and Nutrition (Wiley), involved Montse Jorba, Area [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":75841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,100,139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-additive-manufacturing-3d-printing-en","category-latest-news","category-safe-and-sustainable-food-and-feed-en"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Leitat collaborates with UOC on pioneering research into insect protein in food products - Leitat Technological Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leitat collaborates with UOC on pioneering research into insect protein in food products - Leitat Technological Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leitat has collaborated on a study led by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) to explore the incorporation of insect protein into high-consumption foods, such as pasteurized dairy products. The research aimed to advance towards more sustainable, nutritious, and consumer-accepted dietary models. 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