Evaluating the nutritional value of meat analogues Atze Jan van der Goot, Professor in Sustainable Protein Technology at Wageningen University. Prof. van der Goot is also the scientific leader of the Plant Meat Matters research program that aims to develop the next generation meat analogues. He has (co-) authored 140 peer reviewed papers and holds 6 patents. Professor Atze Jan van der Goot, Sustainable Protein Technology, Wageningen University
Meat alternatives made from pulses are generally more environmentally sustainable than meat, but plant ingredients often are highly processed to maximise protein. Is there a better alternative? Companies making meat analogues often focus on protein isolates and concentrates as they strive for nutritional equivalency with meat. However, less processing could improve plant-based products’ eco-credentials – and lower protein content may not be such a bad thing from a nutritional standpoint. According to Professor van der Goot, products with meat alternatives should be really more sustainable than meat, and that’s not really obvious when you look at the type of processing currently being used. Van der Goot and his team have developed an energy efficient way of producing large pieces of meatlike structures from plant proteins, such as soy and wheat. The process, called shear cell technology, has been used previously to make fibres out of dairy proteins, but he and his team have discovered the mechanisms by which vegetable proteins form structures. This allows for the manufacture of large, fully fibrous meat-like pieces weighing up to seven kilograms.
“What’s very important for the plant-based meat alternatives market is that new innovations that mimic meat are not just small pieces or pieces stuck together,” he said.18 However, in the course of this project, Prof. van der Goot was prompted to take a closer look at the sustainability of plant-derived ingredients and realised that there might be more eco-friendly approaches.
6
| L earn more about Fi Global CONNECT
