How Far Is Chinese Potato Protein Powder From The High-end Market?
Bulk Potato protein powder is an excellent plant-based protein with high nutritional value, containing abundant essential amino acids such as lysine, methionine, threonine, and tryptophan. The development and utilization of potato protein began in foreign countries in the 1970s and 1980s, and it is now acclaimed as "nutritional gold."
The protein content in a potato is approximately 2.3%. Although the protein content in potato tubers is not very high, potatoes are an important staple food globally. As potatoes are also a source of high-quality protein, researching potato protein from a food perspective holds significant importance.
Compared to Europe, China started extracting bulk potato protein powder much later, with technical attempts beginning around the year 2000. Large-scale extraction only became prevalent in the last five to six years.
Some scholars state, "While the quantity of protein in potatoes is limited, the sheer quantity of potatoes cultivated can offer numerous benefits through isolated protein." Additionally, industry experts point out that the quality of potato protein is quite similar to animal protein. Despite being a non-traditional protein source, as global demand for protein increases, the importance of potato protein is becoming more pronounced.
Liu Hong, an expert in the Nutrition Department of Xiangya Hospital affiliated with Central South University, explains that potato extracts are rich in protein, crude fiber, and carbohydrates, providing essential nutrients for the human body. Potato protein contains a substantial amount of viscous proteins, a mixture of polysaccharide proteins. These proteins can prevent the deposition of fats in the cardiovascular system, maintain arterial elasticity, and prevent premature arteriosclerosis. They also prevent shrinking of connective tissues in the liver and kidneys and maintain lubrication in the respiratory and digestive tracts. Potato protein, like sweet potato protein, can help prevent collagen diseases. Furthermore, potato protein is particularly beneficial as a health food for middle-aged and elderly individuals, offering significant health and physiological benefits.
In China, potato protein is a byproduct of the potato starch industry. It is obtained from the liquid waste produced during potato starch processing, through processes like pH adjustment, heating coagulation, dehydration, and drying. It is estimated that a factory processing thousands of tons of starch annually can extract over a thousand tons of protein powder per year.
Currently, in the European market, the price of potato protein powder ranges from 1100 to 1300 euros per ton (with a protein content of over 60%). The price varies more within the domestic market. For protein content above 60%, moisture around 10%, the price is roughly between 5500 to 5800 RMB per ton. For content above 50%, the price is between 4500 to 5000 RMB per ton. For content below 50%, the price varies from over 1800 to over 3000 RMB per ton.
Apart from protein content, moisture, crude ash, crude fat, and crude fiber are also essential reference points. For instance, if the protein content is 60% but moisture exceeds 18%, the price per ton may decrease by 600 to 800 RMB.
As a protein with relatively high nutritional value and rich in essential amino acids, potato protein's energy and protein nutritional value are superior to soybean meal and corn protein. Furthermore, domestically, potato protein remains a natural, high-quality, and cost-effective raw material with extensive development potential.
Presently, there are 3 major application areas for Bulk Potato protein powder in China:
●Animal Feed: Adding potato protein as an additive to animal feed increases the protein content and improves feed utilization, thereby reducing feeding costs. Potato protein has been used in various animal feeds, including cattle, poultry, pets, and fish.
Potato protein powder is not only rich in protein but also has a fairly balanced amino acid composition, which is comparable to skimmed milk powder and fish meal. Potato protein powder contains 18.84 MJ/kg digestible energy, 74.08% digestible crude protein, and 76.87% protein biological value, which are significantly higher than soybean meal.
In addition, potato protein has a high biological nutritional value. Due to the high protein content and the natural balance of amino acids in the protein is better than other plant proteins, coupled with the high amino acid content, potato protein is especially suitable for animal feed. The practice has proved that when potato protein is used as a protein source for adult animal feed, it also has a good effect, even better than other proteins, such as fish meal and soybean protein.
In recent years, potato protein powder has been used as an additive in various animal feeds such as cattle feed, poultry feed, pet feed, and fish feed.
●Health Food:
The lysine content in potato protein powder is much higher than that of other types of protein, and the nutrition of potato protein is only slightly inferior to that of egg protein. The lysine content is as high as 93mg/100g, and the tryptophan is also as high as 32mg/100g.
It is rich in polysaccharide-protein body, usually, it is commonly known as mucin protein, this type of protein can prevent fat deposition in the cardiovascular system, maintain the elasticity of arterial blood vessels, prevent premature atherosclerosis, and prevent Atrophy of connective tissue in the liver and kidneys, keeping the respiratory and digestive tracts lubricated. Therefore, potato protein is a very valuable health food for middle-aged and elderly people and has important health-care physiological functions.
In addition, potato powder is a pure protein concentrate, has a variety of balanced amino acid components, has high nutritional value, and is a healthy food with great potential. Potato protein powder is rich in protein, crude fiber, and carbohydrates, and can provide certain nutrients for humans.
Potato protein also has the functions of enhancing intestinal function, facilitating excrement of feces, lowering blood cholesterol, adjusting blood sugar, controlling weight and losing weight. It is believed that through the food-based upgrading of the potato protein extraction process in the near future, the produced potato protein will be recognized as a new health food.
●Industrial Fermentation: Potato protein can serve as a nitrogen source for industrial fermentation, especially in processes requiring finely granulated proteins. Although its application in this field is in the research and experimentation stage, its potential is significant.
Despite the unique nutritional value and diverse application areas of potato protein as "nutritional gold," there are several shortcomings in China's extraction and processing of potato protein.
1. The production volume is too low, with the national annual production of potato protein powder ranging from 5000 to 8000 tons. This affects downstream industries, especially the feed industry, in terms of raw material supply.
2. Many starch processing companies do not prioritize the extraction of protein. In 2019, the China Starch Industry Association released the group standard "Potato Protein Powder for Feed," encouraging potato starch processing companies to extract protein powder, not only to increase their profits but also to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) content in industrial wastewater.
3. Despite more than one-third of starch processing companies in China starting to extract protein and focusing on high-quality protein development, many companies still do not prioritize protein quality. Quality management in terms of technical control is poor, leading to significant variations in quality between batches, which poses challenges for downstream industries.
It is often said that potatoes are a treasure trove of nutrition. Indeed, China possesses a vast potato planting area and production volume. With improvements in processing technology, the development of refined potato plant protein industries, domestic market exploration, and expansion into the Asia-Pacific market are all within reach.
For related products, please visit our website：www.sxytorganic.com
Contact Us For More Details>>
E-mail:sales@sxytorganic.com
Tel: +86-029-86478251
