Fermentation for Designing Innovative Plant-Based Meat and Dairy Alternatives

Abstract

Fermentation was traditionally used all over the world, having the preservation of plant and animal foods as a primary role. Owing to the rise of dairy and meat alternatives, fermentation is booming as an effective technology to improve the sensory, nutritional, and functional profiles of the new generation of plant-based products. This article intends to review the market landscape of fermented plant-based products with a focus on dairy and meat alternatives. Fermentation contributes to improving the organoleptic properties and nutritional profile of dairy and meat alternatives. Precision fermentation provides more opportunities for plant-based meat and dairy manufacturers to deliver a meat/dairy-like experience. Seizing the opportunities that the progress of digitalization is offering would boost the production of high-value ingredients such as enzymes, fats, proteins, and vitamins. Innovative technologies such as 3D printing could be an effective post-processing solution following fermentation in order to mimic the structure and texture of conventional products.

Local Sources of Protein in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: How to Improve the Protein Quality?

“…Precision fermentation can be used to generate proteases that can be added to food products to increase protein digestibility. For example, during fermentation to create plant-based milk beverages, pectinases are released by lactic acid bacteria which improve the protein content, digestibility, and amino acid profile [ 85 ]. Precision fermentation can also be used to generate animal proteins or complete proteins containing all IAAs without the animal source using genetically engineered yeast strains [ 86 ].…”

Updates on Plant-Based Protein Products as an Alternative to Animal Protein: Technology, Properties, and Their Health Benefits

“…Common plant-based milks can be broadly classified into four categories: soy milks, nut milks (represented by almond and walnut milks), grain milks, mainly oat and quinoa milks, and vegetable and fruit milks such as coconut milk. There are five categories based on the ingredients used in milk substitutes: legumes (chickpeas, soya), nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts), cereals (oats, rice), seeds (sesame, sunflower), and pseudo-quinoa (quinoa) [ 28 ]. There are still some bottlenecks regarding development, such as the presence of antinutritional factors (trypsin inhibitor, phytic acid, and saponin), the homogenization of product categories, and the stability of products [ 27 ].…”

“…Most of the plant-based milks available on the market are made from plant seeds, nuts, and pulp, which are processed by reducing the size of the raw material, including a series of steps such as soaking, crushing, grinding, blending, homogenizing, and sterilizing. Among them, the use of homogenization and heat treatment processes is essential to improve the suspension and microbiological stability of the final product [ 28 ]. The main problems in the production of plant protein milk are the extraction rate of proteins, the stability of emulsified protein drinks (flocculent precipitation, fat precipitation, and browning), shelf-life, the removal of physiologically harmful factors (such as soybean trypsin inhibition factor, cyanogenic hydrogen acid in bitter almonds, etc.…”

“…), and the occurrence of off-flavors (such as beany taste, bitterness, etc. ), which need to rely on process technology, equipment, and formulations [ 28 ]. In some cases, new technologies such as ultrasound, pulsed electric fields, ohmic heating, and ultra-high-pressure homogenization have been applied to improve their stability without the use of additives [ 30 ].…”

Feeding secondary fermentations with mammalian and fungal culture waste streams increases productivity and resource efficiency

“…A newer area of cell culture bioprocessing predicted to undergo rapid growth is that of precision fermentation of synthetic meat and dairy products, designed to replace conventional foods from agricultural production (Lübeck and Lübeck, 2022; Boukid et al ., 2023; Dupuis et al ., 2023). Cultured meat using animal stem cells grown in bioreactors for example, has potential benefits proposed to lower greenhouse gas production from animals, reduce land use for animal farming, and reduce energy and water consumption helping to meet those targets for the Paris 2050 Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals (Post, 2012).…”