Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Technological and nutritional reformulation of meat analogues
Highlights
Coordinator
Reformulation or improvement of relevant food products in the national context in order to: a) implement the nutritional characteristics also by reducing antinutrients or using bioprocessed ingredients (from raw products to ingredients) and limit the use of undesirable components (e.g. by using bioactives) along the food system b) improve food formulation and composition based on consumer perception and needs identified for specific target groups (in connection with Spoke 5 and 6) c) promote clear and ad hoc labelling as an information tool (in connection with Spoke 1 and 7) to increase the willingness to buy improved foods d) guarantee safety and affordability of new products (in connection with Spoke 1 and 3).
Innovation of food (bio)processing using smart and mild technologies and fermentation to improve nutritional quality while ensuring safety and environmental sustainability throughout the shelf life of foods. Nutritional quality and biodiversity are targeted through both advanced and sustainable processes (including encapsulation) to preserve and improve at-risk (micro)nutrient composition of relevant food categories and exploiting microbiological and biotechnological applications to impact on nutritional quality. Such (bio)technological approaches (e.g., fermentation, enzyme treatments, etc.) are validated by process markers also directed to ensure food production safety and quality targeting new food habits (e.g., ready to eat food and novel food consumption) and sustainability, promoting production efficiency and utilisation of alternative sources (in connection with Spoke 2 and 3).
Prototyping of new sustainable and healthy products to meet consumer needs in terms of nutritional and functional targets, but also sensory characteristics and convenience, thus increasing adoption in the long term by promoting exploitation of the previous implemented approaches (see WP4.1, WP4.2) to develop new pilot food products (food design) also in connection with start-up acceleration programmes (activities are also in connection with Spoke 3).
Scaling up of the most promising prototypes and validation of concepts from small to large scale, also in connection with start-up acceleration programmes.
Selection of raw materials/ingredients with improved nutritional characteristics and limited undesirable components (M12)
Development or implementation of at least two reformulated food products for each food category relevant for the impact on general and at-risk groups (M36)
Development or improvement of at least 3 technological approaches to innovate food production (including cooking and shelf life) in terms of nutritional quality, safety, and sustainability (M24)
Scouting and evaluation of existing prototypes of sustainable and healthy products (M12)
Quality by design: innovation in food design concept to be applied to different benchmark products (n=4 prototypes) (M24)
Proof of concept and scale up of at least one promising food product (M36)
Shifting diets from animal-based to plant-based diets has been proposed as strategy to lower the environmental impact of our food system, thus addressing the United Nations sustainable development goals. In this context, hundreds of meat-like products – such as plant-based burgers – have been developed and launched on the market in recent years to replace/imitate their beef counterpart. Historically, soy is the main raw material for the production of plant-based products, likely due to its great availability and protein content and functionality. However, most of this kind of products presents a long list of ingredients to mimic texture, appearance and taste of beef products.
Concerns related to nutritional quality, GMOs, allergies, preservation and/or valorization of biodiversity and/or “clean label” should drive the research towards the reformulation of these products, by exploring the use of raw materials other than soy and/or by limiting the number of ingredients.
Having in mind as final goal the reformulation of the meat-analogue products, this study will include the following activities:
Screening of the meat-analogues currently present on the market in terms of ingredients, energy and nutrient content and textural/functional properties.
Selection of alternative raw-materials/ingredients and evaluation of their functional properties also in relation to the interactions among various ingredients/raw materials.
Set-up and optimization of the extrusion conditions for the production of meat-analogues.
Evaluation of the main features of the developed product(s).
Simulation of the impact on diet quality of consuming reformulated products (instead of current products and unprocessed ingredients) in different target groups of the population.
This activity will allow to:
Select new raw materials/ingredients for the reformulation of meat-analogues.
Set-up the processing (i.e., extrusion) conditions for the production of meat-analogues.
Reformulate at least one plant-based product in the meat-analogue sector
Gather knowledge on the role of specific component/ingredients in the production of meat-analogues.
Gather knowledge on the relation between processing, raw material/ingredient functionality and product quality in the meat-analogue sector.
Gather knowledge on the impact of reformulated products on diet quality to identify further needs of optimization in the formulation of meat analogues.
