Category Crossover: Meat Analogs, Substitutes Break From Niche

Today, consumers make food choices based on their own definitions of good nutrition, a healthy lifestyle, religious traditions, and increasingly, ecological sustainability.

Those who consider themselves vegetarians comprise about 4.5 million Americans, or about 2 percent of the population,

according to a poll conducted by the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) and Harris Interactive. Their survey indicates that 2.3 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 or older say they never eat meat, fish or fowl and thus are vegetarian. About 6.7 percent of the total population claim they never eat meat. VRG finds that the number of vegans--those who never eat meat, fish, fowl, dairy products or eggs--is between one-third to one-fifth the number of vegetarians in the United States. Therefore, companies looking to reach the broadest possible consumer audience may do well to appeal to both groups.

Many vegetarians welcome meat substitutes, or meat analogs, which are derived from various plant protein sources. Meat analog products targeted to this group have seen flavor and texture improvements over time, winning fans both in and outside the vegetarian community.

The non-qualified health claims associated with soy protein has put an institutional blessing on what consumers have been hearing and reading about regarding soy. According to a consumer survey conducted by the United Soybean Board, 30 percent of Americans consume soy foods or beverages once a month or more. For the third year in a row, consumers have reported familiarity with soymilk, soybean oil, soy veggie burgers and plain tofu. What once was considered "fake meat" has now become mainstream. The British-based Vegetarian Society (BVS) claims that about 3 million vegetarians live in the United Kingdom, and have become a vocal group, placing high demands on food manufacturers there. The BVS has been working with the U.K. Food Standards Agency to devise guidelines as to what constitutes vegetarian ingredients.

Meat analogs are typically cholesterol-free, and are low in saturated and total fat. They also help consumers meet FDA recommendations for soy protein intake while avoiding excess sodium. Meat analogs are manufactured to look like meat and closely approximate its nutritional composition and sensory qualities, primarily texture, flavor and appearance. Generally, they are made with plant-derived proteins, with or without dairy-based ingredients. A key requirement is that the final product must have protein content equivalent to that of the milk protein casein. This ensures that it will offer a similar balance and bioavailability of all the essential amino acids needed for human health. Textured vegetable proteins, which are based on soy or soy combined with other plant or meat proteins, are the raw material used to make meat analogs used as a meat substitute, or meat extender in casserole-type dishes, chili or meat-like sauces.

Other protein sources used in meat analogs include wheat gluten, peanut or rice protein, soy products such as tempeh or tofu, and mushroom-like proteins (called myco-proteins) such as Quorn, a bland-tasting, high protein fungus. Dairy and egg analogs exist also, and are based on processed rice, soy, almonds, cashew nuts, gluten, nutritional yeasts or a combination of these ingredients. These can then be mixed with texturizing agents and flavored to make substitutes for milk, cheese, yogurt or ice cream.

The meat analog and soy milk markets saw considerable growth during the 1990s. The introduction and success of meat alternatives such as Gardenburgers and Boca Burgers has led to further introductions of other meatless entree items from companies such as Kellogg's Worthington Foods and other smaller companies. Soy and other vegetable proteins are also used in other meat-based products, such as sausages, to help retain moisture, especially in lower fat formulations.

However, soy-based products for meal applications are still limited. Peter Goldbitz of Soyatech Inc. believes that meat analogs will see more retail growth when they better resemble and taste like the products they were intended to substitute.

The future may be here with high moisture extrusion technology, which was developed over twenty years ago, and has been successfully applied to the development of high quality meat analogs resembling whole muscle meat and poultry.

The technology uses an environment of high moisture, temperature and pressure, and a piece of equipment called a twin-screw extruder. Using these tools, ingredients such as soy protein isolate, (with or without other plant protein or meat ingredients), carbohydrates from starches, fiber, oil and occasionally some heat stable flavors are blended, brought to a molten state, and then pushed through a cooling die system. This creates a fibrous, textured, meat-like product that can be subsequently flavored, colored and shaped to resemble cuts of chicken, beef, pork and other meat products.

The high moisture content requires that the finished product be canned, frozen or otherwise protected from microbial growth. Manipulation of the proportions of different protein ingredients (such as soy, gluten, dried egg albumin, whey proteins and/or concentrates and milk-derived caseinates) and the conditions of temperature, pressure and moisture level in the extruder, determine the final product's characteristics. All the large suppliers of soy protein-based products have patented technologies in this area. These firms include Cargill, ADM and Solae (the joint venture between Bunge and DuPont). Many other suppliers provide unique protein isolate starting materials for meat analog manufacture.

This technology application has made a wide range of textural characteristics possible. Sensory evaluation indicates that these applications have similar likeability scores to commercial meals with real meats. Compared with low moisture extrusion cooking, high moisture extrusion is considerably mild in processing conditions. It is also more flexible in the way in which protein fibers are created, and that contributes to the all-important textural quality of the finished analog product.

Soy protein isolates are available now. They provide a clean flavor profile and overcome the "beany" flavor often associated with many soy ingredients. The future of analog development looks bright. Ever more sophisticated flavoring and coloring systems can be tapped to bring consumer appeal to the category, far exceeding what was available less than a decade ago.