Munialo Claire Darizu, Baeghbali Vahid, Acharya Parag
Harper Food Innovation, Harper Adams University, Newport TF10 8NB, UK.
Natural Resources Institute, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK.
Foods. 2025 Apr 17;14(8):1396. doi: 10.3390/foods14081396.
Animal proteins have been used in the formulation and production of food products for many centuries, which has mainly been attributed to their excellent functional properties. However, the rearing of animals has been associated with an increased emission of greenhouse gases that contributes to global warming and climate change. Consequently, there has been a drive toward using alternative proteins, such as those from plant origins, which have been found to be more sustainable. A climate-smart strategy to contribute toward a reduction in meat consumption has been the formulation of plant-based meat analogues. The lower acceptance of these meat substitutes is mainly attributed to their sensorial, nutritional, and textural properties, which fail to resemble conventional meat. As such, there is a knowledge gap in understanding key aspects that come into play while formulating meat alternatives from plant sources by deciphering the link between the techno-functional attributes of protein and the various quality attributes of these food products. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the technical advances that have been made when it comes to plant-based meat substitutes that could drive consumer acceptance. There is also a huge impetus to diversify plant protein usage in meat analogues beyond soy and pea, which requires the applications of underutilised plant proteins to overcome their functional and organoleptic shortcomings, as well as the techno-economic challenges that have also been addressed in this work. Additionally, the nutritional equivalency of plant-based meat alternatives is reviewed, and the ways in which these products have been fabricated are discussed to assess the opportunities and challenges that exist in current product formulations. Other key determinants, such as environmental sustainability factors, prospective supply chain issues, and the market adoptability of plant-based meat alternatives, are also discussed. This review emphasises the fact that interlinking technical challenges with consumer insights and socioeconomic perspectives for protein transition is critical to ensure that innovations successfully land in the market.
几个世纪以来，动物蛋白一直被用于食品的配方和生产中，这主要归功于其出色的功能特性。然而，动物养殖与温室气体排放增加有关，而温室气体排放会导致全球变暖和气候变化。因此，人们开始转向使用替代蛋白，比如植物源蛋白，因为它们被认为更具可持续性。制定基于植物的肉类替代品是一种有助于减少肉类消费的气候智能型策略。这些肉类替代品的接受度较低，主要是因为它们的感官、营养和质地特性与传统肉类不同。因此，在通过解读蛋白质的技术功能特性与这些食品的各种质量特性之间的联系来制定植物源肉类替代品时，我们对其中关键因素的认识还存在差距。因此，本综述旨在讨论在基于植物的肉类替代品方面取得的技术进展，这些进展可能会提高消费者的接受度。此外，还有巨大的动力促使我们在肉类替代品中增加除大豆和豌豆之外的植物蛋白的使用，这需要应用未充分利用的植物蛋白来克服其功能和感官方面的缺点，以及解决本文中也涉及到的技术经济挑战。此外，本文还综述了基于植物的肉类替代品的营养等效性，并讨论了这些产品的制作方式，以评估当前产品配方中存在的机遇和挑战。我们还讨论了其他关键决定因素，如环境可持续性因素、潜在的供应链问题以及基于植物的肉类替代品的市场适应性。本综述强调，将技术挑战与消费者洞察以及蛋白质转型的社会经济视角联系起来，对于确保创新产品成功进入市场至关重要。
