Atze Jan van der Goot

Atze Jan van der Goot is a Professor in Food Process Engineering at Wageningen University & Research, holding the VLAG Personal Professor title. His research focuses on advancing plant-based meat alternatives through high moisture extrusion technology, with expertise in soy protein, pea protein, and vegetable protein systems to develop sustainable food products.

His research interests center on food process engineering for meat analog development, investigating protein functionality (soy, pea, gluten), structure formation mechanisms, and nutritional optimization. Key areas include dietary fiber integration, extrusion parameter effects, and creating fibrous textures that mimic animal-based meats while improving digestibility and sensory properties.

Recent publications reveal strong trends in high moisture extrusion process optimization, with emphasis on pH effects, screw configuration, and ingredient interactions. His work spans fundamental protein science (e.g., tomato leaf proteomics) to applied engineering solutions for oil incorporation and texture development, demonstrating a systems approach to sustainable food innovation.

Professor van der Goot has supervised 36 research works, including active PhD projects on:

• Structure-perception relationships in fibrous meat analogues
• Water flow and juiciness quantification (Project FUnMeat)
• Dried jackfruit as structural ingredients
• Sustainable pulse processing for off-flavor elimination
• Water-only protein fractionation techniques

He leads research within Wageningen University's Food Process Engineering group, collaborating across food science, nutrition, and biobased technology domains. His team integrates extrusion engineering, protein chemistry, and sensory analysis to advance plant-based meat technology through both fundamental research and industry-relevant applications.