After years of research, at the beginning of this year, Angel yeast protein products (hereinafter referred to as "artificial meat" or "vegetarian meat") represented by artificial "chicken breast" and "ham" were officially listed, and the market response was good.
In order to further strengthen the research and development strength and overcome technical difficulties, Angel invited postdoctoral and technical teams to come to "unveil the leader" for the topic of "in-depth development of artificial meat protein and artificial meat seasoning technology research", "borrowed brains" from the whole country, received 8 postdoctoral teams from 7 universities, and after preliminary screening, determined that 5 postdoctoral teams were shortlisted to participate in the final review.
Recently, Angel Research Institute organized and held the internal review meeting of the first National Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, which took the form of an online meeting and set up two links: roadshow and defense. After the selection of a review team composed of 7 experts inside and outside the company, the team of Dr. Jiang Xiaoming of Ocean University of China was successfully "unveiled", and the next step will be to formally carry out relevant cooperation with Angel Research Institute, and the two sides will work together to overcome key technical problems such as artificial meat molding, color and flavor simulation.
On December 1, the Three Gorges Evening News carried a full-page report on the research progress and achievements of Angel's "vegetarian meat" under the title of "This is how the "vegetarian meat" on the table is produced", the original text is as follows:
December 1, 2021 Three Gorges Evening News 5th edition
Core Tips:
If you're a vegetarian, or you're losing weight, you're likely to have eaten a new type of food that's been popular in recent years— vegetarian meat.
Vegetarian meat is a kind of artificial meat, its appearance, taste and flavor are very similar to meat, but it is not real meat, but it is processed with plant protein and microbial protein (fungal protein) as raw materials.
Yeast protein and yeast extract produced by Angel Yeast Co., Ltd. are important raw materials and seasonings for vegetarian meat. At the beginning of this year, artificial "ham" and other vegetarian meat products with Angel yeast protein as the main raw material were launched, because of their high simulation of appearance and taste, the market response was good, so that yeast protein was in short supply.
How is vegetarian meat produced? What is the difference between a vegetarian diet and a traditional vegetarian diet? On November 29, the reporter went to angel protein nutrition and flavoring technology center to find out.
Straight to the outside and the taste is enough to mess with the real thing
In the Angel R&D complex laboratory, Li Ku, deputy general manager of Angel Protein Nutrition and Flavoring Technology Center, took out a pack of vacuum-packed vegetarian sausages, tore it open and took out one, the size, color and inner packaging look exactly the same as the common hot dogs on the market.
"We made a variety of flavors, this one is rattan pepper flavored, no heating, you can eat it directly." Li Ku neatly sliced the vegetarian meat sausage, forked a slice, and handed it to the reporter.
Looking closer, the cross-section of the vegetarian meat sausage is as smooth and rosy as the ham sausage, full of the "texture" of the meat sausage, no obvious smell can be smelled, the entrance is faintly rattan pepper smell, if it is not known in advance, the reporter will think that eating is ordinary ham sausage.
Then, Li Ku took out the vegetarian beef, vegetarian fish and vegetarian pork belly from the refrigerator, which also looked like they were enough to mess with the truth. "These need to be processed before they can be eaten." Li Ku took out his mobile phone, turned out a few pictures, a few days ago they made a table of vegetarian meat feast, "This is fried vegetarian pork belly, this is fried vegetarian fish pieces, not to say that you can't see that it is vegetarian meat." ”
"Vegetarian meat pursues a high degree of simulation of the shape, texture and flavor of meat." Li Ku introduced that the rise of vegetarian meat stems from people's pursuit of health and concern for environmental protection, hoping to satisfy the appetite of the mouth, but also do not have to worry about affecting physical health and increasing the pressure on the environment.
Compared with meat, vegetarian meat has the advantages of no antibiotics, low fat, zero cholesterol, high protein, wide source, less resource consumption, etc. "At present, vegetarian meat is still different from meat in terms of taste, especially chewability, which is also the direction of our future efforts."
Photo: Vegetarian meat feast
Doubts Vegetarian meat is "made" in this way
In the laboratory, there is a group of cabinets displaying various condiments such as soy sauce and vinegar. In these condiments, yeast extracts produced by Angel are added.
Yeast extract is mainly used to enhance freshness and flavor, with a variety of flavors. The reporter opened two cans, the aroma is fragrant, but the flavor is very different.
"Yeast extract is the 'key secret weapon' in determining the flavor of vegetarian meat, and it is mainly up to suppressing the bean smell." Liku said.
Compared with traditional vegetarian food, the biggest difference is that most of the traditional vegetarian food only pursues the shape, "although it looks like meat, it still tastes like tofu." "Vegetarian meat pursues both form and spirit," the most taboo to eat the bean smell. ”
How is vegetarian meat produced? Li Kuna vegetarian meat sausage example: the yeast protein and soy protein (pea protein) in accordance with the ratio of 4:6 mixed, and then add oil, salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, spices, yeast extract and other compound seasonings, and then through the extrusion equipment for high moisture extrusion, eliminate bubbles in the slurry, injection mold, enema, heating, cooking, vegetarian meat sausage is done.
Different vegetarian meat products, yeast protein and plant protein ratio are different, and the added seasonings are different. "Yeast protein, as a microbial protein, is more conducive to human digestion and absorption, and we are exploring the use of yeast protein as a raw material to make vegetarian meat." Liku said.
There are more seasonings added to vegetarian meat, which is a highly refined food, and the cost is also raised, and the market price is often several times that of similar meat products.
Li Ku suggested that consumers should pay special attention to raw materials and seasoning methods when choosing vegetarian meat products, choose products with fewer raw materials and less food additives as much as possible, give priority to large manufacturers and big brands, and operate in accordance with the cooking methods prompted on the product packaging.
Pictured: Researchers do vegetarian meat experiments
The foreground may become the next outlet
In recent years, in developed countries and regions, the scale of the vegetarian meat market has been expanding. A US market research and consulting firm reported that the global scale of vegetarian meat products reached $12.1 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $28 billion by 2025, with an annual growth rate of more than 15%. In 2019, the sales volume of the US vegetarian meat products market increased by 38% compared with 2017, far exceeding the retail industry, and it is expected to continue to maintain rapid growth in the future.
In China, the market size of vegetarian meat products has also shown a rapid growth trend. Relevant research reports show that in 2019, the market size of China's vegetarian meat products industry was about 7 billion yuan, and the growth rate has been stable at 13.5% to 15.5% in the past few years. It is estimated that by 2025, the market size is expected to reach 15.4 billion yuan. Vegetarian production enterprises such as Zhou Zero, Shuangta Food, Hey Maet, and Uneaten Food have continuously obtained financing, and food companies such as Shuanghui, Jinluo and Baicaowei have successively entered the vegetarian meat products market. Multinational companies such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Unilever, Nestle and Cargill have also invested in and built factories in China. Vegetarian meat may become the next outlet in the food industry.
On November 26th, The final of Angel's first National Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition was unveiled, and the project topic was "In-depth Development of Artificial Meat Protein and Research on Artificial Meat Seasoning Technology". This means that achieving a breakthrough in the taste and simulation of vegetarian meat and making vegetarian meat nutritious and delicious is one of the main directions of Angel's future scientific and technological innovation.
This year, Angel participated in the formulation of national standards for vegetarian meat products, "the definition of vegetarian meat needs to be further clarified, and the market needs to be further regulated, such as clarifying which additives can be used." ”
At present, the annual output of Angel yeast protein is about 2000 tons. Early next year, a yeast protein and yeast extract production line with an annual production capacity of 12,000 tons will be completed and put into operation in Shandong. "It is expected to be full when it is completed, and we need to further increase production capacity." Li Ku is full of confidence in the market prospects of vegetarian meat.