MEAT+POULTRY - September 2024 - 54

INGREDIENT ISSUES
IMPROVING MEAT ALTERNATIVES
All of those promises from Jones will impact
the plant-based meat and poultry category,
which already had a challenging year with
retail sales down from previous years when
the newness of the category invited trial. While
inflation played a part in unit sales decline,
numerous consumer studies suggest it's more
about product quality. Hence, this was an area
where many ingredient and process suppliers
at IFT First focused.
IFT First is the largest global
food science and innovation
expo. It stands for Food
Improved by Research,
Science and Technology.
She said that over the past decade, she
observed how the food industry is stuck. That's
because in order to develop new ingredients
that are cost effective, taste neutral and
healthy, it is expensive and can take decades.
With AI, it can be less than two years, and
that two years includes developing and
commercializing the ingredient, along with
clinical studies and regulatory reviews.
This type of high-tech food and food
ingredient development was a focal point
of the keynote by Jim Jones, deputy
commissioner of human foods with the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He
said that FDA is staying away from defining,
clarifying or even addressing the conversation
about ultra-processed foods, as there's not
enough research on the topic. However, the
items the agency is focusing on, such as
nutrition and the safety of food ingredients,
indirectly address ultra-processed foods and
will conceivably provide some clarity.
Jones explained how technology will assist
food formulators with making more nutritious
food. Technology will also enable the agency
to revisit the safety of ingredients in the
marketplace and, if necessary, take regulatory
action on a national basis, rather than the
current state-by-state legislation.
He promised that before the end of the
year, there will be updated sodium reduction
targets; the term " healthy " will be defined;
and guidelines will be made available for
front-of-pack nutrition content claims. There
are also plans to finalize a " healthy " logo for
qualified products.
54 MEAT+POULTRY | 09.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
" It is important for the flavor in plant-based
meats to be supported by vegetable fats and
oils, " said Megan Brazil, scientist, AAK USA,
Edison, NJ. " Plant-based meats may contain
up to 25% fat. The impact fat has on plantbased
meats is contingent on the amount of
fat included in the plant-based meat, the plant
source of the fat or oil solution, the ratio of
saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and the
melt profile of the fat. "
AAK recently received Generally
Recognized As Safe (GRAS) approval for the
use of shea stearin in plant-based foods and
was showcasing its use at IFT First. Shea
stearin is used in confectionery applications
due to its unique melting profile, which also
may benefit meat and poultry alternatives.
" As a versatile plant-based fat, shea stearin
can be utilized in various applications, " said
Octavio Díaz de León Carrillo, president of
AAK USA. " We see tremendous opportunity
in creating functional food products that
consumers will purchase, particularly within
the popular segments of plant-based meat
and poultry. "
Jeffrey Fine, senior director-customer
innovation, added, " This offers a long-awaited
alternative source of plant-derived solid fat
with a considerably lower saturated fat content
than the coconut oil that is widely used today. "
Suppliers are applying advanced
technologies to create ingredients - including
fats and oils - that focus on improving
the sensory attributes, nutrition profile and
economics of producing meat alternatives.
This includes identifying ingredients that lower
or even eliminate cholesterol, saturated fats
and sodium.
What formerly took decades, even longer,
can be shortened to about two years with help
from AI, according to Khaldi. The " what " she
refers to is new food ingredients, and AI is
Russell Redmond / Sosland Publishing Company
http://www.meatpoultry.com
MEAT+POULTRY - September 2024

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