Alternative proteins and particularly plant-based proteins are becoming more and more important in the face of future challenges, resulting from continuous population growth, the imbalance between malnutrition and overweight/obesity, and environmental changes. With the growing awareness of healthy food and the impact of nutrition on health and wellbeing, there is a trend towards reduced meat consumption or non-meat diets, further increasing the demand for plant-based proteins. Taste is one of the key drivers for purchase decisions next to price, healthfulness, convenience, and environmental sustainability. Despite the great strides in the improvement of the taste of plant-based food products, consumers complaints keeps raising the missing culinary flavor (aroma and taste) authenticity of, e.g., meat analogues because the organoleptic properties are not yet fully comparable to animal products. Nadji and Susana will discuss the prospects and strategies on the taste front that would address the consumers negative perceptions of alternative proteins and further reduce consumers barriers for the acceptability of plant-based food products.

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