Tailor made meat substitutes

Shear cell technology offers the potential for a new generation of  meat substitutes to be produced which are more closely aligned with  consumer preferences in terms of their texture. This technology, which  has been developed by Wageningen UR, is the first of its kind in the  world. Through collaboration with the private sector, it is hoped that  it will further extend The Netherlands’ lead as frontrunner in the field  of meat substitutes.

Between now and 2050, the global demand for meat and meat products is  expected to double. One way of meeting this growing demand sustainably  is to develop meat substitutes that hold greater consumer appeal by  resembling real meat more closely than today’s meat substitutes do. This  resemblance is crucial: in order to persuade the majority of  meat-eaters to switch to meat substitutes, it is essential to develop  products that match real meat in terms of preparation, mouth feel and as  an overall experience.

Technology

The current techniques produce meat substitutes which mimic the texture  and bite of chicken meat. In recent years, the shear cell technology has  been developed on a laboratory scale. This technology is able to create  an even more fibrous texture and potentially ushers in a new generation  of meat substitutes. The ‘proof of principle’ of the technological  feasibility of the shear cell technology has already been provided: food  technologist Atze Jan van der Goot and his team from Wageningen UR have demonstrated that this method enables various (plant-based) proteins to  be used to form fibrous structures which display a clear hierarchical  structure – and this is an important characteristic of meat texture.  Both the fibre formation process and the length of the fibres can be  regulated in a shear cell. This opens up opportunities for creating  specific products for specific target groups. In order to do so, it is  necessary to progress from fundamental research (development of the  principle) to more applied research (development of the technology).  Protein technologist Marcel Minor from Wageningen UR is supervising the  scaling-up process whereby a distinction has been made between five user  groups. That process should result in equipment for use in: 1) domestic households, 2) restaurants, 3) foodservice (e.g. healthcare), 4)  specialised fresh food retail (e.g. butchers), and 5) the food industry.

Sustainable manufacturing

Within the industrial/processing sector, it is a matter of enabling  large-scale manufacture of meat substitutes. In addition to its textural  properties, the shear cell appears to be an interesting alternative in  terms of the amount of energy required in manufacturing: calculations  have shown this is between 25 and 40% lower than when extrusion  technology is used. Meanwhile, there appear to be only minimal  differences between the two technologies with regard to water usage and  product losses during cleaning. Therefore, in view of its environmental  benefits (less energy and water consumption, and fewer product losses),  the shear cell technology appears to score better than the current  extrusion technology. Furthermore, the estimated investment costs for  shear cell technology are considerably lower than those associated with  extrusion.

Small-scale production

Thanks to the limited amount of investment required, shear cell  technology currently appears to be the only technology that is suitable  for small-scale production of meat substitutes with improved fibrous  texture. This unique benefit, in combination with the potential for  better-quality products, can open up a new market segment focused on the  small-scale, decentralised manufacture of meat substitutes.

This type of production offers the following advantages:

•  No energy waste in distribution and cold-chain storage for the meat substitutes;
•  Less food waste thanks to manufacturing being better aligned with demand;
•  The possibility to make meat substitutes for specific target groups  with respect to nutritional properties (for example allergens, amino  acid content) and textural quality (for example, chewiness) of the meat  substitutes;
•  The possibility to increase the appeal to consumers in terms of  taste, the use of additives, herbs & spices and regional/organic  ingredients.

 ‘Shear cell technology: the potential basis for a new generation of meat substitutes’

Collaboration

In late 2013, work started on forming a consortium of companies and  Wageningen UR, with the regional development agency Oost NV supervising  the process. The parties involved all see added value in further  developing and marketing small-scale applications. The aim is to launch  equipment and ingredients on the market that enable end users to  manufacture meat substitutes for their customers.

Any investors or companies who have ideas for interesting new  applications for shear cell technology or for whom this innovative  technology fits within their strategy are invited to contact Marcel  Minor ([email protected]) or Jouke Kardolus  ([email protected]).

References: Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research report “Technologie voor het maken van een volgende generatie vleesvervangers: de shear cell technologie”, Remco Hamoen, Jeroen Knol, Johan Vereijken