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How one partnership is redefining the look, feel and scalability of plant-based meat alternatives
Producing alternatives to meat proteins that are both scalable and meet consumers’ expectations has long been a challenge for food manufacturers. Now, one industry partnership has developed products that will satisfy shopper perceptions, are affordable at retail level and can be produced in industrial quantities.
The road towards producing sustainable protein alternatives for an increasingly health-conscious and environmentally aware consumer could hardly be described as smooth.
From the sometimes eye-wateringly expensive lab-grown meats to 3D printed foods, to the tricky production of more affordable plant-based options, with their often stickier texture, the food industry has been faced with numerous challenges along the way.
Yet the pressure from consumers – and therefore retailers – for the food industry to provide these options remains undiminished, and food manufacturers are having to negotiate their way through a maze of potential directions and production challenges.
Amid all of this, they also have to bear in mind that, above all, the end-product needs to appeal in terms of taste, texture and price – both to attract the vegan and vegetarian market, as well as the important flexitarian market, which has also driven protein alternatives’ growth in recent years.
In doing so, there is a perceived need to replicate, as closely as possible, the traditional meat alternatives on the market while being able to scale up plant-based production and manufacturing to a level where the price is acceptable to shoppers. As noted in an article from the US’ Good Food Institute (GFI), “to compete with conventional products, alternative proteins must achieve levels of affordability that unlock the largest market – omnivores”. And the GFI also cites Nielsen data, which demonstrates that, on average, plant-based meat is twice as expensive as beef, more than four times as expensive as chicken and more than three times as expensive as pork per pound.
However, progress is being made. At the Plant-Based Protein Manufacturing Summit in Amsterdam last year, leading businesses in the plant-based food and beverage industry explored the challenges and opportunities available in effectively scaling up plant-based production and manufacturing. One key recognition that came out of this summit was the need to build partnerships to achieve effective meat alternative goals. Another observation from the same event found that the “biggest threat to the [meat alternatives] market becoming mainstream was consumer acceptance and that, for the broader audience of flexitarians to readily accept plant-based ‘meats’, their need to look as close as possible to the original product is simply not up for debate”.
New meat alternatives partnership in action
One recent partnership that claims to have cracked both matching the visual effect of traditional meats and the ability to produce in quantity is that of plant-based ingredients supplier Planteneers and equipment manufacturer Handtmann, both located in Germany. The two companies have devised a way to create marbled steaks, which have a look and fibrous texture remarkably similar to their original meat counterparts, as well as bacon and other plant-based products with different marbling and fat layers.
More importantly, the products can be scaled up and produced in sufficient quantity to allow them to be both affordable and attractive to the retail market, say the founders.
In launching what they labelled Steak 2.0 earlier this year, the companies observed: “Marbled steaks and bacon with meat and fat layers are standards in the classic meat segment. However, offerings in the plant-based alternatives category are still very limited. This is even more the case for plant-based products that feature not just marbling or fat layers, but also an authentic fibrous structure.”
Perhaps of even more significance, however – and something of a breakthrough in the plant-based arena – is the easy scaling of products with a high throughput of more than 1 ton per hour, enabling automated and efficient production. “The system’s high flexibility allows for the production of a wide variety of products, such as [plant-based], steaks, fillets, bacon and cooked ham, but also enables customisation of product shapes and cutting patterns, as well as the definition and determination of fine or coarse fat deposits in the product, according to individual customer requirements,” say the companies.
Handtmann’s VF800 with a forming and marbling unit, FME 570, is used to create the variable marbling or fat deposit effects, with a separating system GMD99-x used for products that need to maintain their shape such as steaks and fillets, while a clipper system is utilised for cooked hams, for example.
Leo Hemrich, food technologist at Handtmann in Germany, says the company has worked with Planteneers for years on several projects. Their cooperation brings together Planteneers’ expertise on different plant-based ingredients with Handtmann’s knowledge of production processes and the equipment needed to handle different textures and forms of both meat and plant-based products. “For years now, at Handtmann, we have kept a close eye on the vegan market and monitored what is happening out there,” says Hemrich. “We try to be ahead of the game so that we develop solutions early. Then, when the market is ready for a particular product, we can already offer a solution to process that product on an industrial scale.”
Other technologies, such as 3D printing, cannot produce to a similar scale and can be very expensive, he says. “Our ability to produce these plant-based products at scale begins to make it interesting for supermarkets to introduce them to their shelves at a price that’s acceptable to a broader range of consumers.”
Industry reaction
The technology behind Steak 2.0, initially launched in January this year, was revealed to the industry for the first time at food technology exhibition Anuga FoodTec in March, reveals Handtmann product manager Thomas Wenk, generating substantial interest. “Since then, we’ve undertaken many tests and trials with customers here in Germany and we have several clients who are already doing market research with samples they have produced at our site,” he says. “The feedback from Anuga was that the marbled steaks produced were more realistic than most other options out there in the market.”
With consumer acceptance of protein alternatives key to their adoption, Hemrich explains: “Food is not just about eating it – there are so many values and feelings associated with food and people like their traditional meals – they don’t want to change their food habits.”
Over and above this, observes Hemrich, are the arguments for the development of plant-based proteins that are sustainable for the long term. He points to animal welfare concerns and the effect of meat production on the environment, both currently high on the consumer agenda. Even more important, however, is the consideration that if the world population continues to grow at its current rate, by 2050, the ability to feed the whole world with traditional proteins will no longer exist, he notes.
The flexitarian market, where people choose not to abandon meat-eating but eat less of it, is also a vital consideration, adds Anthony Daniels, managing director of Handtmann UK. “Flexitarians will replace meat products some days of the week, but they don’t want the products to look completely different – it’s a flexible lifestyle choice.”
In developing the Steak 2.0 project, the key challenge was to get the right density of product and achieve a marbling effect that would be variable but consistent in quality, says Hemrich. “If the consistency is off and the red and white densities are too different, then a cross-section of the product will not look satisfactory, and the overall visual appearance of the product will be spoiled. We have to be able to get densities that can be processed and pumped in a stable way and, for the fine marbling, we need accurate depositing in the right areas.”
While the system was developed for steaks, it can also produce fillets, bacon and cooked ham, he adds. “So, all kinds of whole cut [plant-based] meats can have this realistic marbling effect without the end-product looking too processed.”
As Daniels points out, the major problem with some plant-based meats produced hitherto is that they look too uniform and, prior to the current technology, there was no option to change that. With Steak 2.0, the customer can modify the product and alter it to look however they want.”
While the co-extrusion system lies at the heart of 2.0’s production, Wenk also points out that it’s the whole processing system, from the mixing in a Variomix IVM to the freezing and cutting process that needs consideration, he says.
While Planteneers and Handtmann are slightly coy about revealing too many details of their process – the competition will be taking note after all – there is an air of excitement around the potential for Steak 2.0 to revolutionise plant-based protein alternative production. Handtmann technologists are available to conduct tests with potential customers to trial their products and take the new system forward.
As Daniels concludes: “This project is unique. While it’s a big project for a potential customer to undertake, it allows manufacturers to be able to afford to get this product on retail shelves – and that’s where the excitement begins.”
