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Xampla’s plant-based packaging solutions get a double vote of confidence




Xampla has enjoyed a double boost with research backing in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Sustainable Food Technology, and an endorsement in a Channel 4 documentary hosted by actor and TV presenter Joe Swash.

The new peer-reviewed research in Sustainable Food Technology shows Xampla’s novel plant protein microcapsules retain oil-based activities through simulated digestion, all the way to the intestinal phase.

Xampla samples
Xampla samples

The paper, titled ‘Digestibility and enteric release achieved with microencapsulates made from emulsion-templated plant proteins’, gives new backing to Xampla’s world-first, multi-patented technology.

Scientists deployed Vitamin D2 as a test cargo in spray-dried plant protein encapsulates to demonstrate how fat-soluble ingredients in microscopically-sized particles can be added to ‘convenience’ foods and liquids.

Researchers, including the company’s founding scientist Prof Tuomas Knowles, showed that added ingredients contained within Xampla microcapsules maintain their stability in transit, storage and through gastric digestion, significantly releasing once they reach the small intestine.

The plant protein capsules even remain physically robust after contact with boiling water, which emulates pasteurisation conditions. Tests showed that the vitamin D cargo remained intact without degradation, despite high temperatures and vigorous mixing.

Inside the Xampla lab
Inside the Xampla lab

Dr Marc Rodriguez, chief technical officer at Xampla, said: “This paper provides the clearest evidence yet that our plant protein microcapsules solve a major challenge in the functional food and supplement industry.

“We can take oil-based additional ingredients and ensure they remain stable through processing, transit and storage, all the way to digestion. The additional nutrients are substantially released where they can be most effectively absorbed, in the small intestine.”

Prof Pete Wilde, emeritus fellow in food structure, colloids and digestion at the Quadram Institute Bioscience, added: “Our collaboration with Xampla represents a significant development of what is possible in nutrient and probiotic delivery.”

Meanwhile, Xampla’s plastic-free packaging solution was seen by an audience of millions in Channel 4’s documentary Meal Deals: Behind the Bargain, hosted by the aforementioned Joe Swash.

The documentary, which aired on Monday (26 May), explores Xampla’s plant-based solution to toxic plastic and PFAS coatings on Britain’s meal deal packaging. With Brits consuming around 600 million pre-packed sandwiches annually – equivalent to 1,100 every minute – the implications are environmentally significant.

Xampla Vitamin D Microencapsulation study diagram
Xampla Vitamin D Microencapsulation study diagram

Joe Swash is a former EastEnders star, who transformed the eating habits of families for C4’s Batch from Scratch, and is now on a mission to make lunch habits more sustainable.

While presenting Meal Deals: Behind the Bargain, he said: “The plastic window is very important to supermarkets. If we can’t see, we won’t buy. These guys use similar techniques to make a film to replace the wrapping found on sachets and other types of packets. And because it’s made from plants it’s completely edible. So the future of the meal deals – when we’re looking forward – could be completely plastic-free.”

Alexandra French, CEO of Xampla at the BioInnovation Building on Cambridge Science Park. Picture: Keith Heppell
Alexandra French, CEO of Xampla at the BioInnovation Building on Cambridge Science Park. Picture: Keith Heppell

Alexandra French, CEO at Xampla, said: “The inclusion of our Morro materials in Channel 4’s documentary highlights the growing recognition that innovative, natural solutions are essential to addressing the global plastic crisis.

“Our technology, grounded in 15 years of Cambridge University research, delivers a genuine alternative to conventional plastics and harmful PFAS [‘forever chemicals’] in food packaging.

“With 400m tonnes of plastic waste produced globally each year, solutions such as our plastic-free, biodegradable Morro Coating demonstrate that a plastic-free future is not only possible but commercially viable today.”

Xampla’s Morro option is already live across Just Eat’s 41,000 German restaurants.



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