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Industry TrendsJan 26, 2026Patent: Patent WO2024194130A1 · Nestlé

Nestlé patents an algorithm that engineers "complete" plant protein blends

What Happened

Nestlé filed for a computational optimization method that calculates the exact ratio of different plant proteins needed to hit a perfect PDCAAS score of 1 — algorithmically solving the "limiting amino acid" problem that has long made plant-based diets nutritionally incomplete.

Why It Matters

The 'limiting amino acid' problem is the core reason plant-based diets have historically needed careful combining (rice + beans, for example) — an algorithm that computes exact blend ratios to hit a PDCAAS of 1 turns folk nutritional wisdom into a repeatable formulation process.

Turning 'rice and beans' folk wisdom into an exact algorithm.

FET's Takeaway

This is a formulation-scale tool, not a consumer-facing product — its real value is cutting the R&D iteration time for anyone building a 'complete protein' plant-based product, which is normally a slow, trial-and-error process.

Verification source: FoodTech Foresight ↗