Humanity will be weaned from meat

Despite the rise of interest in protein substitutes for meat, industry is in no hurry to introduce new technologies due to the lack of clear standards and requirements for such products. Recently, the magazine FoodNavigator prepared a special review devoted to the development prospects of the meat substitute industry.

According to experts, the continuous growth of the total population of the planet leads to a constant increase in demand for meat and its substitutes.

At the same time, it is vital to search for reliable alternative sources of protein that are not related to livestock. So what alternatives do we have?

Already today there are many products on the market that are positioned as meat substitutes, from soy and wheat protein, to tofu and Quorn - mycoprotein, obtained by fermentation from fungus Fusarium venenatum.

But the continuous growth in demand for affordable meat substitutes requires the development of fundamentally new approaches and products that will one day completely supplant conventional meat from store shelves.

Isolation of plant proteins, algae, insects and even artificial meat grown in a test tube is the list of the main directions of the industry development.

Meat from vegetables

Already today, many ingredients based on plant proteins, including soy, wheat and peas are offered on the market to replace meat.

Last year, the manufacturer of textured vegetable protein Sotexpro and the manufacturer of Roquette starch joined together to develop a new pea-based texturing agent suitable for the production of a full-value meat substitute. Another firm, Solbar, already today offers a line of vegetable proteins, according to applications suitable for copying most types of red meat, poultry, fish and seafood in the production of vegetarian meat analogues. They can also be used to improve the texture and taste of real meat products.

In addition to these proposals, there are a number of international research projects on the development of products from vegetable protein that can replace meat.

In the "LikeMeat" project, financed by the EU, it is planned to use the seeds of raw vegetables for the production of protein products, in texture, taste and aroma identical to animal meat products, says project coordinator Florian Wild.

"Our goal is to develop a vegetable substitute for meat that is pleasant not only for juiciness and fiber, but also to taste," explained Wild. "The task of our group is to choose a way of producing a product from vegetable seeds that can replace meat in full accordance with the demands of our consumers, She told FoodNavigator.

The researcher explained that there are several plants suitable for the production of meat substitutes, especially wheat, peas, lupine and soy.

"We deliberately do not limit ourselves to using one of the options, because individuals may be allergic to certain products.

Seaweed?

Algae are known for their high protein content - according to scientists, up to 47% of dry weight. Such a rich protein content makes algae one of the most interesting sources of proteins not of animal origin.

Protein isolated from algae is much cheaper than meat. The Dutch research organization TNO is investigating the use of algae growing in cold northern waters for the production of proteins. According to the researchers, these algae can become an environmentally friendly, rich and cheap source of protein, able to replace meat in the diet of people.

The scientist from TNO Korstanje told about the rubisco protein, which, due to its structuring properties, can serve to stabilize the foam, which means its high potential for the production of meat substitutes.

The future of insects

The use of insects for food can be natural for many cultures, but Western consumers with prejudice refer to food from six-legged neighbors.

However, the products from the purified protein of insects undoubtedly have a great future. The European Union and a number of national food agencies of Europe today are already spending considerable money on the development of food products, which include ingredients from insects.

Why? It's very simple - insects are not inferior to meat in terms of caloric content and nutritional properties, but they contain less fat and are much cheaper.

Many insects are extremely rich in such nutrients as calcium, iron, niacin, proteins, potassium, vitamins.

Last year, the UK Food Safety Agency reported that purified or partially purified insects could become an effective and commercially reliable source of proteins. The Dutch government has long advocated encouraging the use of insects for food.

The European Union plans to send € 3 million to study "the prospects of using insects as an alternative source of protein."

- In principle, there are three ways to use insects for food. First, insects can be eaten whole, in a recognizable form. In the second - from insects it is possible to prepare nutritious powders and pastes. Thirdly, when producing food, proteins isolated from insect tissues can be used, "said Harmke Klunder of the University of Wanningen, the Netherlands, the leader of one of the works on developing ways to prepare food from insects.

However, many experts warn that most likely for Western consumers will have to use "hybrid products" in which individual ingredients from insects will be hidden under the guise of ordinary food.

Burgers from a test tube?

In addition to alternative sources of protein, a great interest is the work on the cultivation of meat in the laboratory.

Professor Mark Post of the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, argues that the technology of growing meat in a test tube can meet the demand for meat products associated with the growth of the world's population.

Fast works on creation of effective technology of cultivation in a laboratory conditions of skeletal muscle tissue, completely similar to ordinary meat and suitable for cooking. Some successes in this direction have already been achieved.

The first burger in the world, prepared from "test-tube" meat, should appear already this year.

Last year, in an interview with FoodNavigator, Post said his team was working on growing a burger of about 10,000 cow stem cells.

To grow a piece of muscular tissue, suitable for hamburger, the original cells should share more than a billion times.

250 000 euros for the project was allocated by an unknown private philanthropist. According to Dr. Post, this man motivated his step "by taking care of the environment, feeding the world's population and interest in technologies that can change our lives."

According to the scientist, if today the goal of his team is the production of small strands of muscle tissue, then in the future he plans to organize the cultivation of large pieces of meat for steaks and chops.

"I hope to provoke a real interest of enthusiasts and financial support of governmental and commercial structures by our work, which will allow us to improve the technology right up to the launch of industrial production," Post said.

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