Development of Plant-Based Seafood Analogs

Beyond Meat, New Wave Foods and Impossible Foods have all made swift progress in the textural optimisation of their plant-based seafood using a Stable Micro Systems Texture Analyser in their patents to get ahead in the game in this exciting new field. Plant-based alternatives that mimic seafood are cropping up at restaurants and grocery stores around the world and “cultivated” seafood grown in labs from real cells, is on the horizon.

For a number of reasons, there is an increasing global requirement to move from animal diets to plant-based ones.

The first is that the growing global population and high animal-based food consumption lead to a decline in the natural resources of land and freshwater needed to agriculturally sustain this inefficient production. This results in enormous environmental pressures, a decrease in biodiversity and increased environmental pollution, global warming and related adverse effects. Second, unhealthy, unbalanced nutritional practises and insufficient physical activity have led to a rise in chronic diseases, obesity and cancer. Finally, animal welfare has become a more prominent interest for many with the resulting hope of replacing traditional meat and fish production with plant-based alternatives.

It is worth noting that, thanks to their high nutritional value and positive health impacts, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended an increased consumption of fishmeat and seafood. However, higher marine fish and seafood production in the wake of these recommendations, results in further decline of marine biodiversity, ecological damage and fish conditions which can all have negative impacts on the ecosystem.

In addition, discarding of unwanted catches to the sea has become a concern to the European Commission, which developed a reform in the Common Fisheries Policy, to battle this environmentally irresponsible behaviour. These facts, along with the consequent rising dietary shifts towards vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, encourage the development of plant-based analogs to fish and seafood, mimicking the texture and sensorial properties of fish-meat, seafood or processed fish products.

The market of plant-based meat analogs, or meat alternatives, has been steadily increasing. Intense research and product development efforts are aimed at mimicking the structure, texture or sensorial properties of whole-muscle meat, or processed meat products, such as burgers, patties, sausage, and nuggets, including the ones of fish-meat and seafood. Mimicking the structure, texture and sensorial properties of fish-meat is an emerging niche in the field of meat analogs. Vegans and vegetarians, who avoid animal-based seafood for humanitarian and sustainability reasons, but like their taste and nutritional benefits, would be able to enjoy highly similar alternative foods, not requiring the killing of animals. People who consume ‘Kosher’ foods will be able to enjoy the taste and texture of seafood, without violating their religious rules. The environment, and consequently future generations, will benefit from less disturbance to marine ecosystems, and better sustainability.

Mimicking the internal structure and texture of fish or seafood requires simulating their nanometric fibrous structure, resulting from the tissue-, cellular and molecular level structures, particularly from intra- and intermolecular bonds between protein chains. Some works have integrated plant protein isolates or concentrates, mainly from soy and pea, into surimi gels, through partial or full substitution of fish raw material or fish myofibrillar proteins. Most companies do not aim to imitate the structure and texture of fish or seafood, but to imitate the sensorial properties of processed fish products, in terms of appearance, texture, smell and taste. Here are a few products that are on the market or under development and what they are using as their main ingredient.

Plant-based fish and seafood alternatives on the market, or under development

There are a number of texture measurements available to characterise seafood analogs that are based on the methods used for testing real fish and fish products. For fish and fish products the issues of firmness, gaping, and the creation of surimi products with an authentic shell-fish texture that are barely distinguishable from the real thing present challenges. At each stage in surimi product development, production and quality control, food manufacturers can quantify textural parameters such as toughness, elasticity, stiffness, cutting strength and gel strength using the TA.XTplus Texture Analyser. The effects of gel moisture content, salt concentration, cooking temperature and length of time heat is applied during processing are typical assessments which cut out the guess‑work.

A wide range of fish product test methods is built into Exponent Connect Texture Analyser software and will automatically load at the click of a button. This helps make your testing quicker to access and the analysis of your product properties is already prepared for you. Find out more about fish testing methods

With demand for plant-based protein products unlikely to slow down any time soon, we expect to see innovations in this market to accelerate at a rapid pace. This means that, to stand out in an ever more competitive industry, brands need to formulate on-trend products that continually meet textural expectations.

There is a Texture Analysis test for virtually any physical property. Contact Stable Micro Systems today to learn more about our full range of solutions.

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.

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