Alpha-Tool

Alpha-Tool is a digital nutrition software tool developed by Wageningen University & Research and University of Copenhagen to assess the protein quality of meals, with a particular focus on plant-rich and plant-based meals. The tool integrates an extended food composition database containing amino acid composition and protein digestibility data for protein-containing foods, and combines these with a meal-level scoring approach to quantify protein quality.

Users enter meal ingredients and amounts, after which the tool calculates the protein quality of the meal and provides structured output that can support research, dietary assessment, meal development, and product innovation. The tool was developed to address an important gap in existing nutrient calculation software, which typically reports total protein but not protein quality, even though protein quality is highly relevant when designing plant-rich meals for groups with elevated protein needs, such as older adults and patients.

Current and future developments include expansion of the database, refinement of digestibility data, internationalisation, and the integration of recommendation algorithms and additional nutritional or sustainability metrics.