Allah Bakhsh

With a strong background in meat alternative protein and a passion for sustainable food solutions. My commitment to alternative and plant and animal proteins is rooted in six years of dedication and perseverance. I completed my Master’s and Ph.D. from Gyeongsang National University, South Korea, in 2019 and 2022, specializing in plant-based alternative protein products. Immediately after completing my PhD, I embarked on a role as a post-doctoral researcher at Sejong University, Seoul, Korea, focusing on the extrusion process and generation of plant-based food alternative products. As a researcher specializing in plant-based foods, my primary focus is on comprehending the factors that influence the quality and safety of meat alternative products, as well as manipulating/mimicking and combining plant and animal proteins to create innovative products. My research focuses on integrating natural and sustainable ingredients, such as extracts of natural edible pigments, and textured vegetable protein (soy pea and wheat), to develop optimal plant-based products. This involves enhancing functionality in terms of colorimetric indices, as well as sensory and textural attributes. Additionally, I have explored the utilization of new processing technologies, by incorporating extruded products, to improve the efficiency and efficacy of novel products including plant components (garlic powder, molasses, shiitake mushrooms, yeast extract, smoked flavour), animal proteins (beef, chicken, and pork), polysaccharides (tapioca starch, methylcellulose, gelatin, lecithin and oleo gels), lipids (canola and coconut oil), natural pigments/colorants (red yeast rice, anthocyanins, chlorophyll, lactoferrin, beet juice) and other extracted natural edible pigments. Moreover, in one of my research experiments I incorporate and mimic plant-based food alternatives with microalgae including spirulina, duckweed, and yellow chlorella with promising, sensory, textural physicochemical and antioxidant properties (All these ingredients are mentioned in formulation tables of published research articles). As a dedicated professional in the field of food science, I have acquired extensive knowledge and experience in the development of innovative plant-based products. Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher, my focus lies in incorporating various natural edible pigments into plant-based foods. I have already published 22 research articles in renowned journals, and several more articles are currently in the pipeline for publication. My achievements encompass a wide range of accomplishments, including formulating plant-based protein blends, optimizing texture and taste profiles, and implementing efficient production processes to facilitate scaling up production. With a profound understanding of ingredient functionality, I possess the ability to leverage various plant-based proteins to achieve desired sensory attributes and nutritional characteristics in plant-based food. Google scholar link :https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=75M2LLoAAAAJ&hl=en.