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‘Ultimately you’re not eating a powder, you’re eating a snack bar’

14 April, 2026

‘A great deal of research is being conducted on individual plant-based proteins that can replace animal proteins. But ultimately, you don’t eat a little powder — you eat a snack bar. A plant-based protein may prove to be very healthy, but the question is: “Does that property hold up in a complete food product?”‘

Speaking is Lizette Oudhuis, a chemist by training. As a Professor of Healthy Food & Nutrition at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, she views food through the lens of polymer chemistry. Within the Agriculture, Water & Food theme of the Lectorenplatform Applied Science, Oudhuis works with other public and private parties to research the entire food chain: from plant to consumer. ‘We really are making small steps in that food transition.’

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Mustard seed

One research project that is particularly close to Oudhuis’s heart, as it has the potential to strengthen her own region, is the development of a low-salt mustard. ‘Together with a Groningen mustard producer and a plant breeder, we are investigating which compounds found in mustard seed varieties could replace salt as a flavouring. We are also looking into whether it might be possible to bring mustard seed cultivation back to Groningen.’

Want to find out more or share suggestions?

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Lizette Oudhuis

Oudhuis encourages readers to familiarise themselves with the wide range of practice-based research being carried out at universities of applied sciences. And, if you are a chemist considering how your expertise might contribute to the protein transition, do get in touch: a.a.c.m.oudhuis@pl.hanze.nl.