Application of protein fibers in plant-based meat analogues to improve mechanical and textural properties

Plenty of conclusive evidence points to the association of meat consumption with negative environmental outcomes resulting in climate change. These findings show the importance of reducing meat consumption and developing efficient strategies such as production of meat alternatives to alleviate the associated environmental and health issues. However, the production of plant-based meat analogues that can mimic whole muscle cut, as opposed to processed meat such as ground beef, is still far from market launch. In particular, the main barrier to produce an acceptable meat analogue is texture, which is a challenging attribute to achieve due to difficulties associated with the development of highly anisotropic fibrillar structures from globular plant proteins. To address this problem, in current study, we will apply electrospun protein fibers (EPF) from gelatin and zein in plant-based meat analogues, using tween screw extruder and investigate the thermal, rheological, structural, textural, and mechanical properties of final meat alternatives. We expect that the texture and mechanical properties will be improved upon using EPF due to the rearrangement of protein molecules around protein fibers.

Faculty Supervisor:

John Dutcher

Student:

Partner:

Aarhus University

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Agriculture and Food; Advanced Manufacturing; Nanotechnology

University:

University of Guelph

Program: