Ingredients and Process Affect the Structural Quality of Recombinant Plant-Based Meat Alternatives and Their Components

Improvement of soybean protein isolate/konjac glucomannan-seaweed polysaccharide-based connective tissue simulants: effects of pH and water mobility on gel structure and gelling mechanism

Hydrogels are considered to have good potential to mimic connective tissue. In this study, the mechanical properties and thermal stability of protein-polysaccharide composite hydrogels were enhanced by moisture and acid-base modulation in an attempt to overcome the application limitations. The results of texture profile analysis (TPA) and compression experiments showed that the appropriate outward migration of moisture significantly improved the gel's mechanical properties. Rheological analysis showed that the gel exhibited optimal mechanical properties under an alkaline environment and, combined with the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results, excellent thermal stability was observed in the pH 10.5 sample group. Furthermore, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the alkaline environment was also conducive to the formation of a denser gel network structure, and the outward migration of water led to a more orderly and uniform structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that hydrogen bonding also played a major role in the formation of the cellular network structure of the gel. These findings demonstrate the positive contribution of moisture and pH modulation to the processing and edible property enhancement of animal connective tissue-mimicking structure and provide a theoretical basis for the regulation of hydrogel properties.

An Investigation of the Status of Commercial Meat Analogs and Their Ingredients: Worldwide and South Korea

Meat analogs are a burgeoning industry, with plant-based meat analogs, insect-based meat analogs, algae-based meat analogs, mycoprotein-based meat analogs, and cell-based meat analogs. However, despite the industry's growth potential, market expansion faces hurdles due to taste and quality disparities compared to traditional meats. The composition and characteristics of meat analogs currently available in the market are analyzed in this study to inform the development of future products in this sector. The results show that plant-based meat analogs are mainly based on soy protein together with wheat gluten and methylcellulose or spices. Insect-based meat analogs tend to contain processed larvae as the protein source. Seaweed or spirulina is often the main ingredient in algae-based meat analogs. Mycoprotein-based meat analogs all use mycoproteins. Cell-based beef, pork, chicken, and seafood products are already under various stages of development around the world, although many are still at the prototype level.

From Farms to Labs: The New Trend of Sustainable Meat Alternatives

Meat analogs or meat alternatives mimic conventional meat by using non-meat ingredients. There are several reasons for the rising interest in meat alternatives, e.g., health-consciousness, environmental concerns, and the growing demand for sustainable diets. Factors like low-calorie foods, low-fat, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and flexitarian lifestyles are also contributing to this change (conventional to meat analogs). Numerous meat substitutes are presently being launched in alternative meat markets. Plant-based meat, restructured meat, cultured meat, hybrid cultured meat, and insect protein-based meat are prevalent among meat alternatives. The scope of meat alternatives, including plant-based meat, cultured meat, restructured meat, and insect-based protein products, is expanding due to advances in food technology. Innovation in food technology plays a crucial role in sustainable food production. Still, there are some challenges to the market of meat alternatives, including consumer acceptance, the appearance of meat alternatives, and the cost of production. Innovative approaches, such as advanced technologies and awareness of meat alternatives to the meat consumer, are required to deal with these challenges. This review briefly examines the technological advances, regulatory requirements, pros and cons, and market trends of meat alternatives. The finding of this review highlights the importance of meat alternatives as a sustainable resource of food. Moreover, meat alternatives can fulfill the increasing demand for meat and also decrease the environmental impact. Additionally, this review also explores ways to improve the overall market scenario of meat alternatives.

A Review on the Application of Animal-Based Materials Using Three-Dimensional (3D) Printing and Protein Restructuring Technologies

Production of alternative proteins is crucial for the development of future protein resources. This study explored the creation of sustainable animal resources by combining extrusion molding and three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies. Extrusion effectively organizes vegetable proteins at high temperatures and pressures to replicate meat-like textures, and high-moisture extrusion successfully mimics the fiber structure of conventional meat. However, many meat analogs products still differ from conventional meat in terms of sensory properties such as texture, juiciness, and flavor, indicating the need for quality improvement. Researchers have leveraged 3D printing technology to incorporate fat analogs and enhance the appearance and texture through muscle fiber simulation. This technology allows for precise arrangement of muscle fibers, formation of adipose tissue, and marbling, thereby improving the overall sensory experience. By combining extrusion and 3D printing, we can enhance the nutritional and organoleptic qualities of meat analogs, ultimately meeting consumer expectations and achieving a balance between plant- and animal-based materials.

Plant-based seafood alternatives: Current insights on the nutrition, protein-flavour interactions, and the processing of these foods

Fish are an important food source; however, the sustainability of current seafood supplies is a major concern for key stakeholders. The development of plant-based seafood alternatives may be suitable products to alleviate some of the pressures on aquatic ecosystems and help support environmental sustainability. However, the wide-spread adoption of these products weighs heavily on the ingredients used in the formulations which should not only satisfy nutritional and sustainability targets but must also meet consumer approval and functionality. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of the nutritional quality and sensory challenges in particular flavour (which includes taste and aroma), that have so far proven difficult to overcome in the development of plant-based seafood alternatives. Protein interactions that contribute to flavour development in plant-based seafood alternatives and the factors that impact these interactions are also discussed. We also review the recent advances in the innovative technologies used to improve the texture of products in this emerging food category. Finally, we highlight key areas for targeted research to advance the development of this growing segment of food products.

State of the art, challenges, and future prospects for the multi-material 3D printing of plant-based meat

The emergence of innovative plant-based meat analogs, replicating the flavor, texture, and appearance of animal meat cuts, is deemed crucial for sustainably feeding a growing population while mitigating the environmental impact associated with livestock farming. Multi-material 3D food printing (MM3DFP) has been proposed as a potentially disruptive technology for manufacturing the next generation of plant-based meat analogs. This article provides a comprehensive review of the state of the art, addressing various aspects of 3D printing in the realm of plant-based meat. The disruptive potential of printed meat analogs is discussed with particular emphasis on protein-rich, lipid-rich, and blood-mimicking food inks. The printing parameters, printing requirements, and rheological properties at the different printing stages are addressed in detail. As food rheology plays a key role in the printing process, an appraisal of this subject is performed. Post-printing treatments are assessed based on the extent of improvement in the quality of 3D-printed plant-based meat analogs. The meat-mimicking potential is revealed through sensory attributes, such as texture and flavor. Furthermore, there has been limited research into food safety and nutrition. Economically, the 3D printing of plant-based meat analogs demonstrates significant market potential, contingent upon innovative decision-making strategies and supportive policies to enhance consumer acceptance. This review examines the current limitations of this technology and highlights opportunities for future developments.

Mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaf powder modified the processing of meat alternatives: Principal component analysis from apparent properties to chemical bonds

For texture control in plant-meat alternatives, the interrelationship between apparent characteristics and chemical bonds in high-fiber formulations remains unclear. The influence of mulberry leaf powder on apparent characteristics and chemical bonds of raw materials, block and strip products at addition amounts of 0.5-25% was analyzed. The results showed that 8% addition significantly increased the chewiness of the block by 98.12%. The strips' texture shows a downward trend, and the processing produced more redness and color difference. Additives promoted the formation of voids, lamellar and filamentous structures, and the strip produced more striped structures. Disulfide bonds significantly increased in the block, and the β-turn in the secondary structure enhanced by 12.20%. The β-turn transformed into a β-sheet in strips. Principal component analysis revealed that the texture improvement was associated with producing disulfide bonds and β-turn, providing a basis for high-fiber components to improve products' apparent characteristics by chemical bonds.

Dietary Fibers: Shaping Textural and Functional Properties of Processed Meats and Plant-Based Meat Alternatives

The search for alternative sources of plant-based ingredients to improve the textural and sensory properties of plant-based meat alternatives (PMAs) is a growing trend, with the potential to enhance the sustainability of global food systems. While much focus has been placed on plant-based proteins, it is known today that dietary fibers (DFs) can also play a key role in the textural and other physicochemical properties of traditional processed meat products and PMAs. This review examined the latest scientific literature regarding the advantages of using DF in food. It showcases the latest applications of DF in processed meats, PMAs, and the effects of DF on the functional properties of food products, thereby aiming to increase DF applications to create improved, healthier, and more sustainable meat and PMA foods. The predominant effects of DF on PMAs and processed meats notably include enhanced gel strength, emulsion stability, improved water-holding capacity, and the formation of a uniform, porous microstructure. DF also commonly enhances textural properties like hardness, chewiness, springiness, and cohesiveness. While the impact of DF on processed meats mirrors that of PMAs, selecting the right DF source for specific applications requires considering factors such as chemical structure, solubility, size, concentration, processing conditions, and interactions with other components to achieve the desired outcomes.

Novel animal product substitutes: A new category of plant-based alternatives to meat, seafood, egg, and dairy products

Many consumers are adopting plant-centric diets to address the adverse effects of livestock production on the environment, health, and animal welfare. Processed plant-based foods, including animal product analogs (such as meat, seafood, egg, or dairy analogs) and traditional animal product substitutes (such as tofu, seitan, or tempeh), may not be desirable to a broad spectrum of consumers. This article introduces a new category of plant-based foods specifically designed to overcome the limitations of current animal product analogs and substitutes: novel animal product substitutes (NAPS). NAPS are designed to contain high levels of nutrients to be encouraged (such as proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fibers, vitamins, and minerals) and low levels of nutrients to be discouraged (such as salt, sugar, and saturated fat). Moreover, they may be designed to have a wide range of appearances, textures, mouthfeels, and flavors. For instance, they could be red, orange, green, yellow, blue, or beige; they could be spheres, ovals, cubes, or pyramids; they could be hard/soft or brittle/pliable; and they could be lemon, thyme, curry, or chili flavored. Consequently, there is great flexibility in creating NAPS that could be eaten in situations where animal products are normally consumed, for example, with pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, soups, or salads. This article reviews the science behind the formulation of NAPS, highlights factors impacting their appearance, texture, flavor, and nutritional profile, and discusses methods that can be used to formulate, produce, and characterize them. Finally, it stresses the need for further studies on this new category of foods, especially on their sensory and consumer aspects.

Properties of texturized protein and performance of different protein sources in the extrusion process: A review

The need for protein is increasing due to the rapid growth of the global population. However, conventional animal meat production has caused severe environmental, land usage, and other issues. Meat substitutes can provide consumers with a high-quality alternative to protein. Texturized protein (TP) is a critical ingredient in meat substitutes and is mainly obtained through extrusion processing. Therefore, this review first discussed the essential physical properties of TP, including appearance and structure, water-holding capacity (WHC) and oil-holding capacity (OHC), texture, and sensory properties. The performance of plant and novel source proteins in extrusion processing is also summarized. The properties of the desired TP should be considered first before extrusion processing. Under different extrusion parameters, proteins from the same source can exhibit varying properties. Although the novel source proteins can adversely affect TP quality, their high yield and environmental protection are worthy of further study. This paper aims to review the impact of proteins from different sources on the properties of TP during the extrusion process and discuss practical research methods for TP.

Quality characteristics of peanut protein-based patties produced with pre-emulsified olive oil as a fat replacer: Influence of acylglycerol type

The emulsion (O/W) may be used as a fat replacer to develop healthier meat analogs. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effects of oil incorporation methods (direct oil addition and emulsion addition) and oil types [triacylglycerol (TAG) and diacylglycerol (DAG)] on the quality characteristics of peanut protein-based patties crosslinked by transglutaminase (TGase). The patties formulated with emulsions showed larger texture parameters (springiness, cohesiveness and gumminess), lower cooking loss and higher acceptability compared with directly adding oil. The rheological results confirmed that the presence of emulsions strengthened the gel structure in patties, which allowed the patties containing emulsions to stabilize free water. Whereas, TAG-based emulsion was more effective than DAG-based emulsion in improving quality of products, possibly because the competitive adsorption at oil-water interface of DAG reduced the crosslinking between the interfacial protein and adjacent protein molecules. This study revealed the relationship between the acylglycerol type in emulsion and the patty quality, providing a reference for the development of plant-based patties.

Plant-Based Meat Proteins: Processing, Nutrition Composition, and Future Prospects

The growing need for plant-based meat alternatives promotes the rapid progress of the food industry. Processing methods employed in plant-based meat production are critical to preserving and enhancing their nutritional content and health benefits, directly impacting consumer acceptance. Unlike animal-based food processing, the efficiency of protein extraction and processing methods plays a crucial role in preserving and enriching the nutritional content and properties. To better understand the factors and mechanisms affecting nutrient composition during plant-based meat processing and identify key processing steps and control points, this work describes methods for extracting proteins from plants and processing techniques for plant-based products. We investigate the role of nutrients and changes in the nutrients during plant protein product processing. This article discusses current challenges and prospects.

Mimicking Wagyu beef fat in cultured meat: Progress in edible bovine adipose tissue production with controllable fatty acid composition

Since the current process of livestock meat production has considerable effects on the global environment, leading to high emissions of greenhouse gases, cultured meat has recently attracted attention as a suitable alternative way to acquire animal proteins. However, while most published studies on cell-cultured meat have focused on muscle tissue culture, fat production which is an important component of the process has often been neglected from this technology, even though it can enhance the meat's final taste, aroma, tenderness, texture, and palatability. In this study, we focused on bovine muscle reconstruction by monitoring and optimizing the possible expansion rate of isolated primary bovine adipose stem cells and their adipogenesis differentiation to be fully edible for cultured meat application. After approximatively 100 days of serial passages, the bovine adipose-derived stem cells, isolated from muscle tissue, underwent 57 ​± ​5 doublings in the edible cell culture medium condition. This implies that by cultivating and amplifying them, a minimum of 2.9 ​× ​10²² ​cells can be obtained from around 10 ​g of fat. It was discovered that these cells retain their adipogenesis differentiation ability for at least 12 passages. Moreover, the final lipid composition could be controlled by adjusting the fatty acid composition of the culture medium during the differentiation process, resulting in organoleptic features similar to those of real fat from muscle. This was especially so for the cis isomer oleic acid percentage, an important part of high-grade Japanese Wagyu meat. These characteristics of the primary bovine adipose-derived stem cell proliferation and adipogenesis differentiation provide valuable insights for the in vitro production of meat alternatives.

Effect of transglutaminase-catalyzed crosslinking behavior on the quality characteristics of plant-based burger patties: A comparative study with methylcellulose

Transglutaminase (TGase) is gaining increasing recognition as a novel and healthier bio-binder for meat analogs. This work focused on the TGase-induced crosslinking behaviors, and then evaluated the difference in quality characteristics (Texture, water distribution, cooking properties, volatile flavor and protein digestibility) of peanut protein-based burger patties treated with TGase and traditional binder (methylcellulose, MC). TGase-catalyzed crosslinking, enabling amino acids to participate in the formation of covalent bonds rather than non-covalent bonds, and promoted the formation of protein aggregates and dense gel networks by changing the protein structure, ultimately improving the quality characteristics of burger patties. Compared with the TGase treatment, MC-treated burger patties showed a greater texture parameter, lower cooking loss, higher flavor retention but a lower degree of digestibility. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of the roles of TGase and traditional binders in plant-based meat analogs.

A holistic approach toward development of plant-based meat alternatives through incorporation of novel microalgae-based ingredients

This study explored the changes in the physiochemical, textural, sensory, and functional characteristics of plant-based meat (PBM) after incorporating novel plant-based ingredients including spirulina (SPI), duck Weed (DW), and yellow Chlorella (YC). In the chromaticity evaluation, the YC group (YCI YC2, and YC3%) displayed significant differences (p < 0.05) in lightness (L*) indices as compared to the control. Whereas, based on concertation gradient of SPI microalgae (SP0.5, SP0.7, and SP1%) incorporated into PBM patties demonstrated that SPI 1 had the lowest values (p < 0.05) in redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) followed by SPI 0.7 and SPI 0.5% concentration, respectively. The concentration gradient of the YC group indicated that YC3 was intended to be the highest crude fat value followed by YC2 and YCI. The ash content in PBM patties increased considerably (p < 0.05) as the concentration level of microalgae advanced in all treated groups. Based on the concentration level of YC incorporated microalgae into PBM patties indicated that YC 3 had the highest (p < 0.05) gumminess and chewiness while YC 1 had the lowest reported values in terms of gumminess and chewiness. Moreover, springiness and cohesiveness showed considerable differences between SPI and YC groups. In the sensory evaluation, SPI 1 showed the lowest value only in color and appearance (p < 0.05), conversely, the other sensory parameters were non-significant among all treatment groups (p > 0.05). The micronutrient in PBM presented an irregular pattern after incorporating various ingredients. However, levels were higher (p < 0.05) in the DW group (DW 0.5 DW 0.7, and DW% 1) than those in the other groups. Moreover, the SPI and YC groups showed detectable levels of diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity with, SP 1 showing the highest level of antioxidant activity. Acknowledging the limited research on PBM production, extraction technologies, and selecting various novel suitable ingredients in meat substitutes. Hence, to fill this knowledge gap an attempt has been made to incorporate various concentrations of microalgae including SPI, YC, and DW to enhance the quality and functionality of meat alternatives. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that describes the physiochemical, textural, sensory, and nutritional attributes of PBM incorporated with novel microalgae. Collectively these results indicate that the incorporation of SPI, DW, and YC may improve the quality of PBM without showing deleterious outcomes on the quality and functionality of the ultimate PBM products.

Recent innovations and emerging technological advances used to improve quality and process of plant-based milk analogs

The worldwide challenges related to food sustainability are presently more critical than ever before due to the severe consequences of climate change, outbreak of epidemics, and wars. Many consumers are shifting their dietary habits toward consuming more plant-based foods, such as plant milk analogs (PMA) for health, sustainability, and well-being reasons. The PMA market is anticipated to reach US$38 billion within 2024, making them the largest segment in plant-based foods. Nevertheless, using plant matrices to produce PMA has numerous limitations, including, among others, low stability and short shelf life. This review addresses the main obstacles facing quality and safety of PMA formula. Moreover, this literature overview discusses the emerging approaches, e.g., pulsed electric field (PEF), cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), ultrasound (US), ultra-high-pressure homogenization (UHPH), ultraviolet C (UVC) irradiation, ozone (O3), and hurdle technology used in PMA formulations to overcome their common challenges. These emerging technologies have a vast potential at the lab scale to improve physicochemical characteristics, increase stability and extend the shelf-life, decrease food additives, increase nutritional and organoleptic qualities of the end product. Although the PMA fabrication on a large scale using these technologies can be expected in the near future to formulate novel food products that can offer green alternatives to conventional dairy products, further development is still needed for wider commercial applications.