WO2023001826A1

WO2023001826A1 - Meat analogue and process to produce the same

Info

Publication number: WO2023001826A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/070203
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marco SANTAGIULIANA; Madelon Frederique DERWIG; Karen Joannie Majella DIRKS; Anne Geralda BREKELMANS; William James Greenwood
Original assignee: Unilever Ip Holdings B.V.; Conopco, Inc., D/B/A Unilever
Priority date: 2021-07-23
Filing date: 2022-07-19
Publication date: 2023-01-26

Abstract

An improved meat analogue and process for producing the same, said meat analogue comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue.

Description

Meat analogue and process to produce the same

The present invention relates to meat analogues, preferably substantially free from animal proteins, and a process for producing the same.

Meat analogues are increasing in popularity. There is an increasing demand for different types and shapes of meat analogues. Ironically while meat analogues are no longer confined to the shape of existing meat products, meat analogues are predominantly shaped to resemble their meat counterparts. Examples include burgers, sausages, meat balls, schnitzels, nuggets, minced meat, chicken breast, spareribs. To manufacture meat analogues of different shapes often the meat analogue dough needs extruded into a specific shape or stuffed into a casing of the desired shape. For example, the shape of a chicken breast, a sausage, spareribs, to name a few. After the meat dough has attained the desired shape, usually after cooking the meat in the casing, the meat analogue can be sold and consumed if the casing is edible. If the casing is inedible the casing needs to be removed or peeled away before packaging and shipping the meat analogue to a point of sale.

For example, meat analogues like sausages analogues can be produced in a number of ways. One method involves preparing a meat analogue dough, stuffing the meat analogue dough into a tubular casing, followed by cooking the stuffed meat analogue with casing to form a cooked meat analogue. There are two forms of casings: edible and non-edible. Edible casing may be made from e.g., intestine, polysaccharides, or collagen. Inedible casing may be made from e.g., nylon, polyamide or cellulose. In case of an inedible casing, this may need to be peeled before packaging and shipment. While peeling can be done manually e.g., in consumer kitchen or on lab scale with a knife, industrial application involves peeling using mechanical peeling equipment such as described in WO 2014/186326. Typically, such equipment can produce at least 30 meters of sausage per minute by using e.g., vacuum to tear off the casing at such high speeds to produce at tens or even hundreds of meters sausage per minute. In particular, the removal of the inedible casing at such high speeds during the manufacture of meat analogue sausages poses a challenge as the casing should be removed cleanly without sacrificing the quality and producibility of the sausage.

Which production process is used will depend on the desired outcome which in turn will depend the local market preferences: some regions prefer meat analogues like sausage with edible casings while other regions may prefer the product produced in an inedible casing. WO 2016/120594 (Marlow Foods Ltd) discloses a vegan sausage with 0.6% pea fibre, 2% wheat fibre, 0.08% Sodium alginate, 0.44% of a 36wt% CaCI2 solution, 0.4% Carrageenan. WO 03/061400 (NUG discloses meat analogues based on milk protein, alginate, calcium and gellan gum.

These processes are based on jellification of alginate with calcium solution. Calcium-induced jellification as described is difficult to control as evidenced by the teaching that spraying a batch size 1 kg of mix takes 1 min. One kilo batch is typical for a lab scale trial. While alginate- jellification may perhaps be controlled for a one kilo batch, it is usually problematic for large scale production typically involving batches of hundreds of kilos. In addition, the sprayed calcium needs to be mixed with the alginate. Jellification of alginate occurs rather quick when the alginate comes into contact with calcium. Thus, while the mixing is needed it also destroys the alginate gel structure already formed.

To be able to offer more affordable meat analogues to larger groups of consumers it is critical to increase the efficiency and yield of large-scale production thereby lowering production costs of meat analogues. Complicated gelling processes are a clear drawback. In addition, producing many different shaped meat analogues each with their own recipes in a factory also increases complexity and costs. Most meat analogue doughs are optimized for one or the other process and/or format. There is a need to have a more versatile meat analogue dough which can be used as a base for different formats of meat analogues, and which can be produced successfully under a variety of process conditions including mechanical peeling while still resulting in a product with a good appearance and sensory profile: juicy but avoiding mushy and slimy products.

This would greatly simplify the production process as the same meat analogue composition can be used for various processes. In case of desired changes only one composition needs to be adjusted e.g., by swapping one flavor mix for another flavor mix or in case of textured proteins swapping a softer one for a harder one.

Summary of the invention

Surprisingly the meat analogue according to the invention and the process to produce the same solves at least one or more of the drawbacks mentioned above. Without wishing to be bound by theory applicants believe that by using a process resilience agents part as described herein, the resulting meat analogue shows an unexpected resilience against the various production conditions typical for large scale production of meat analogues, in particular sausages, while still resulting in juicy meat analogues which are not mushy or slimy.

The invention provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue, comprising non animal protein, psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ ions, preferably whereby the meat analogue is suitable for mechanical peeling at speed of at least 30 meter per second.

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, preferably whereby the meat analogue has a resistance of at least 16mm and/or a yield stress of at most 11000g and/or a Slime Layer of at most 1.5%; preferably whereby said fibers, said gum and Ca2+ synergistically improve the process resilience

The invention also provides a vegan meat analogue, preferably a minced meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and potato fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents and preferably less than 3wt% of soy protein isolate.

The invention also provides a vegan meat analogue, preferably a meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and potato fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 50 to 330 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, whereby said gum preferably comprises gellan gum, and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, preferably whereby the meat analogue has a yield stress of at most 11000g and a resistance of at least 16mm

The invention also provides a vegan meat analogue, preferably a meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising 0.1 to 3 wt% psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre being at least 75% insoluble, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 50 to 330 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents and preferably less than 3wt% of soy protein isolate.

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan minced meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre, potato fibre, gum being gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 40 to 450 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents; preferably i) Slime Layer of less than 1.5%, more preferably at most 1.4% and having one or more preferably both of the following features ii) yield stress of at most 11000g, preferably at most 10500g and iii) resistance of at least 17mm, preferably from 17 to 45 mm, even more preferably from 18 to 40mm

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising 0.1 to 3 wt% psyllium fibre, potato fibre, gum said gum comprising gellan gum and/ora combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 40 to 450 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents and preferably less than 3wt% of soy protein isolate.

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan minced meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part having a synergistic combination comprising 0.1 to 3 wt% psyllium fibre, 1 to 6 wt% potato fibre, 0.1 to 2 wt% of gum, said gum comprising gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 50 to 330 mg, more preferably 80 to 290 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue, 1 to 4 wt% methylcellulose; said meat analogue comprising 8 to 25 wt% of non-animal protein and further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents. The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and potato fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 40 to 450 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid, methylcellulose and flavoring agents and preferably less than 3wt% of soy protein isolate.

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising 0.1 to 3 wt% psyllium fibre, 1 to 6 wt% potato fibre, 0.1 to 2 wt% of gum, said gum comprising gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 40 to 450 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; 1 to 4 wt% methylcellulose; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents.

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising 0.1 to 3 wt% psyllium fibre, 1 to 6 wt% potato fibre, preferably being at least 75% insoluble, 0.1 to 2 wt% of gum, said gum comprising gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 50 to 330 mg, more preferably 80 to 290 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents and preferably less than 3wt% of soy protein isolate.

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising 0.1 to 3 wt% psyllium fibre, 1 to 6 wt% potato fibre, preferably being at least 75% insoluble, 0.1 to 2 wt% of gum, said gum comprising gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 50 to 330 mg, more preferably 80 to 290 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; 1 to 3 wt% methylcellulose; said meat analogue comprising 8 to 25 wt% of non-animal protein and further comprising food grade acid, lipid, methylcellulose and flavoring agents.

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising a synergistic combination of psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 40 to 450 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, preferably whereby the meat analogue is mechanically peelable at speed of at least 30 meter per second and/or whereby the meat analogue has a resistance of at least 16mm.

The invention also provides a meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising a synergistic combination of 0.1 to 3 wt% psyllium fibre, 1 to 6 wt% potato fibre, 0.1 to 2 wt% of gum, said gum comprising gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 40 to 450 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; 1 to 4 wt% methylcellulose; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents.

The invention further provides a meat analogue preferably in the form of a vegan meat analogue sausage comprising: a) 8 to 25 wt % of non-animal protein; b) 50 to 330 mg Ca2+/100g, preferably 80 to 290 mg Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; c) 0.1 to 3 wt%, preferably 0.2 to 2 wt% of psyllium fibre; d) 1 to 6 wt%, preferably 1.5 to 5 wt% of potato fibre, preferably being at least 75% insoluble; e) 0.1 to 2 wt% of gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and locust bean gum; f) 5 to 22 wt% of liquid oil; g) flavouring agents; h) preferably, coloring agents; i) methylcellulose; j) preferably less than 1 wt% of sugar; k) 40 to 65 wt% of water;

L) food grade acid; m) 0 to 3 wt% of saturated fatty acid (SAFA); and preferably less than 1% of soy protein isolate.

The invention provides a vegan minced meat analogue preferably in the form of a sausage with an edible casing comprising: a) 8 to 25 wt % of texturized non-animal protein preferably comprising soy protein, pea protein or a combination thereof; b) 120 to 260 mg Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; c) 0.2 to 2 wt% of psyllium fibre; d) 2 to 4 wt% of potato fibre, preferably being at least 75% insoluble; e) 0.2 to 1 wt% of gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and locust bean gum; f) 8 to 20 wt% of liquid oil; g) flavouring agents; h) preferably, coloring agents; i) 2 to 3 wt% of methylcellulose; j) less than 1 wt% of sugar; k) 40 to 65 wt% of water;

L) food grade acid; m) 0 to 3 wt% of saturated fatty acid (SAFA); preferably less than 3wt% of soy protein isolate and said meat analogue preferably being substantially free of coconut oil. and

The invention further provides the use of a combination, preferably a synergistic combination, of psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+, preferably in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue to provide a meat analogue with process resilience to allow large scale production of meat analogues, preferably said meat analogue having at least two of the following features i) Slime Layer of less than 1.5%, more preferably at most 1.4% ii) yield stress of at most 11000g, preferably at most 10500g and iii) resistance of at least 17mm, preferably from 17 to 45 mm, even more preferably from 18 to 40mm.

The invention also provides a process to prepare a meat analogue, preferably in batches of 50 to 500 kg of meat analogue, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+, preferably in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, said process comprising the step of mixing the hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part to form a meat analogue, shaping the meat analogue, preferably whereby the meat analogue has a temperature of at least 21°C, preferably of 21 to 30°C, even more preferably 22 to 28°C. The invention also provides a process to prepare a meat analogue, , preferably in batches of 50 to 500 kg of meat analogue, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+, preferably in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, said process comprising the step of mixing the hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part to form a meat analogue, whereby either the hydrated non-animal protein part or the process resilience agent part has temperature of at least 30°C, preferably 30 to 50°C, more preferably 30 to 40°C, even more preferably 30°C to 35°C before it is mixed with the other part, such that after the mixing the meat analogue has a temperature of at least 21 °C, preferably of 21 to 35°C, even more preferably 22 to 28°C.

The invention also provides a process to prepare a vegan minced meat analogue sausage, , preferably in batches of 50 to 500 kg of meat analogue, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 50 to 330 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, said process comprising the steps of

A) mixing the hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part to form a meat analogue;

B) shaping the meat analogue by stuffing the meat analogue into a casing, preferably whereby the meat analogue has a temperature of at least 21°C, preferably of 21 to 30°C, even more preferably 22 to 28°C;

C) Cooking the shaped meat analogue preferably such that the core temperature is 90° to 95°C for at 7 to 10 min;

D) Cooling the cooked encased meat analogues with water, preferably a shower, preferably with water having a temperature of 7 to 9 °C, preferably until a core temperature of 5 to 10°C;

E) If casing is to be removed, mechanically peeling the encased meat analogue with vacuum, blasts of compressed air and/or steam using a mechanical peeler, preferably at a speed of at least 30 meter meat analogue sausage per minute, preferably at a speed of 30 to 300 meter per minute; F) packaging the meat analogue, preferably under modified atmosphere e.g., 70 O2 : 30 CO2_,, preferably in portions of 100-500 gram for sale

Detailed Description of the invention

These and other aspects, features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. For the avoidance of doubt, any feature of one aspect of the present invention may be utilised in any other aspect of the invention. Ratio’s are weight/weight, unless indicated otherwise. Similarly, all percentages are weight/weight percentages by weight of the meat analogue without any casing, unless otherwise indicated. Except in the operating and comparative examples, or where otherwise explicitly indicated, all numbers in this description indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction, physical properties of materials and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word “about”. Numerical ranges expressed in the format "from x to y" are understood to include x and y. When for a specific feature multiple preferred ranges are described in the format "from x to y", it is understood that all ranges combining the different endpoints are also contemplated. If a range is described as from 0% to y% or less than y%, said ingredient may be absent. The terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents as used herein refer to both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. The term “substantially free of ingredient x” is understood to mean that ingredient x is not present in an amount to have an effect although it can be present in trace amounts as part of another ingredient. The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates. While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims as. For the purpose of determining the extent of protection, due account shall be taken of any element which is equivalent to an element specified in the claims.

Definitions

The term “animal protein” as used herein refers to protein from animals like mammals, fish and fowl including chicken, cows, pigs, sheep, goat, fish etc. It includes milk protein, egg protein.

The term "non-animal" as used herein refers to a plant, algae, fungus, or microbe.

The term “edible casing” as used herein refers to a casing suitable for human consumption. Preferred examples include edible casing without any animal derived ingredients e.g., one comprising alginate, konjac gum and guar gum, oil and glycerol.

The term “meat analogue” as used herein refers to a food product resembling a real-meat product whereby the protein is of non-animal origin.

The term “vegan meat analogue” as used herein refers a meat analogue substantially free of protein of animal origin including but not limited to dairy protein, egg white. Preferably, a vegan meat analogue is substantially free of animal protein and animal fat. Even more preferably a meat analogue comprises less than 0.1 wt% of ingredients derived from animals, more preferably less than 0.01 wt%, even more preferably a meat analogue is substantially free from ingredients derived from animals. Preferably the meat analogue according to the invention is substantially free of isolated and purified heme-containing protein, preferably substantially free of isolated and purified leg heme-containing protein. Substantially free as used herein is understood to mean that such ingredients are not added as such for a specific functionality but can be present in trace amounts as part of a non-animal derived ingredient. As used herein the term "isolated and purified'* indicates that the preparation of heme- containing protein is at least 60% pure, preferably at least 80%, most preferably at least 90%/ pure. The term “meat analogue” refers to the meat analogue without casing if any casing used, unless indicated otherwise.

The term “meat analogue dough” as used herein is used interchangeably with the term “meat analogue”. It can be used to emphasize the dough like character typically before cooking when it can be shaped into e.g., a burger, or in case of a sausage into sausage casing.

The term “minced meat analogue” as used herein refers to a vegetarian product that has an appearance and structure similar to that of minced meat. More particularly, like minced meat, the minced meat analogue of the present invention is largely (³ 20 wt.%) composed of irregular chunks of hydrated texturized protein. The term “minced meat analogue” also encompasses products shaped from such minced meat analogue, such as patties, sausages and meat balls.

The term "texturized protein" or TP as used herein refers to fibrous and spongy chunks, which are produced by cooking the starting materials in an extruder cooker and extruding them to form a texturized protein. These are often available as dry TP chunks.

The term "texturized vegetable protein" or “TVP” as used herein refers to TP based on plant protein such as soy protein, pea protein, sunflower protein, mung bean protein.

The term “chunk” refers to the form of the hydrated state of a protein particle, i.e. after hydration of e.g. dry TVP particles and mixing these to form the meat analogue. A chunk has the form of a more or less irregular granule. The length and width of the hydrated chunks preferably are generally 0.5 to 2 centimeters, preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 80% of the number of hydrated chunks have length and width 0.5 to 2 centimeter and preferably a thickness being less than the width and between 0.3 to less than 2 centimeter. The singular and plural i.e., “chunk” and “chunks” are used interchangeably.

The term “protein isolate” as used herein refers to material having at least 90 wt% of protein based on dry matter. Examples include soy protein isolate, pea protein isolate and potato protein isolate. Unlike texturized protein, protein isolates are typically in the form a fine powdered material.

The term “plant fibre” as used herein refers to indigestible fibre isolated from plants added to the meat analogue as a separate ingredient. Non-limiting examples include psyllium fibre and potato fibre.

The term “dietary fibre” as used herein refers to indigestible carbohydrates and includes both plant fibre as defined above and fibre which has not been isolated from plants as such.

The term “yield stress” as used herein refers to the yield stress of the uncooked meat analogue without casing as measured according to the protocol described herein.

The term “resistance” as used herein refers to the resistance of the meat analogue as measured according to the protocol described herein. In brief, the resistance of a meat analogue is measured using a cooked meat analogue having a diameter of 26 mm and a length of 15cm using a texture analyser with a a three-point bending rig fitted with a load cell of 50 kg and Warner-Bratzler blade probe with a length of 70 mm as the third point of the bending test whereby the resistance is measured in mm indicating the point until fracture occurs. A more detailed protocol can be found in the experimental section.

The term “sugar” as used herein refers to all monosaccharides and disaccharides but excludes polyols as defined in EU Regulation 1169/2011 Annex I. The term “mechanically peelable meat analogue” as used herein refers to a meat analogue which is suitable for mechanical peeling and can be peeled without damage like breaking using mechanical peeling.

The term “mechanical peeling” as used herein refers to peeling using mechanical peeling equipment such as described in WO 2014/186326. Typically, such equipment can peel many meters of sausage per minute by using vacuum and/or blasts of compressed air and/or steam to tear off the casing at such high speeds to produce at least 30 meter sausage per minute preferably 30 to 300 meter sausage per minute.

The meat analogue

The meat analogue according to the invention can be prepared by mixing a hydrated non animal protein part and a process resilience agent part which comprises process resilience agents such as psyllium fibre, gum selected from a plant gum, a microbial gum or combinations thereof, at least one other plant fibre, Ca2+ and as further described. _The meat analogue according to the invention may have any format including but not limited to burgers, sausages, meat balls, schnitzels, nuggets, minced meat, chicken breast, spareribs. The meat analogue may be breaded like a schnitzel or nugget. The meat analogue according to the invention is preferably a minced meat analogue, even more preferably a vegan minced meat analogue like a sausage, burger, or meat ball.

Hydrated non-animal protein part

The hydrated non-animal protein part preferably comprises water and non-animal protein. Preferably the non-animal protein comprises texturized protein from plant, algae, fungus, or microbe. Preferably the non-animal protein comprises texturized vegetable protein (TVP), even more preferably TVP from legume protein like soy, pea protein and combinations thereof. If lipid is used, the hydrated non-animal protein part may also comprise at least part of the lipid, preferably oil, present in the meat analogue. The hydrated non-animal protein part may also comprise a food grade acid. Any food grade acid may be used such as acetic acid, citric acid, malic acid, lactic acid. Preferably the hydrated non-animal protein part comprises 8- 25wt % of non-animal protein, 0.1 to 10 wt% of food grade acid, 10 to 30 wt% of water by weight of the meat analogue. Preferably, the hydrated non-animal protein part comprises IQ- 40 wt% oil by weight of the total amount of lipid in the meat analogue.

Process Resilience agent part

The meat analogue comprises process resilience agents such as psyllium fibre, gum selected from a plant gum, a microbial gum or combinations thereof, at least one other plant fibre, Ca2+ and preferably methylcellulose. Preferably, the meat analogue comprises process resilience agents comprising a synergistic combination of psyllium fibre, gum selected from a plant gum, a microbial gum or combinations thereof, at least one other plant fibre, Ca2+ and preferably methylcellulose. Preferably, the meat analogue comprises synergistically effective amounts of resilience agents, said agents comprising psyllium fibre, gum selected from a plant gum, a microbial gum or combinations thereof, at least one other plant fibre, Ca2+ and preferably methylcellulose. The mixture of process resilience agents may also be referred to as the process resilience agent part as this part is preferably prepared separately from the hydrated non-animal part. Preferably the process resilience agent part comprises water, psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, Ca2+, preferably methylcellulose, preferably colouring agents, flavouring agents and at least part of the lipid if lipid is used. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is hypothesised that the process resilience agents provide the meat analogue composition to be resilient against the various production conditions typical for large scale production of meat analogues, in particular sausages, while still resulting in juicy meat analogues which are not mushy or slimy. Such large-scale conditions preferably include handling, transporting, mechanical peeling of large amounts of meat analogue e.g., batches of more than 100kg of meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention with preferred process resilience preferably has i) Slime Layer of less than 1.5%, more preferably at most 1.4% and having one or more preferably both of the following features ii) yield stress of at most 11000g, preferably at most 10500g and iii) resistance of at least 17mm, preferably from 17 to 45 mm, even more preferably from 18 to 40mm.

Non-animal protein

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises 8 to 30 wt% of non-animal protein, said protein preferably comprises, more preferably is selected from plant protein, fungal protein, algal protein microbial protein and mixtures thereof. Preferably said plant protein comprises, more preferably is selected from legume protein, oat protein, oil seed protein. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises 8 to 30 wt%, more preferably 8 to 25 wt% of non-animal texturized protein selected from pea protein, soy protein, oat protein and mixtures thereof.

Calcium, calcium ions (Ca2+)

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises calcium-ions. The term “calcium” as used herein is used interchangeably with the terms “calcium ions” and “Ca2+” and “Ca2+ ions”. Preferably the meat analogue according to the invention comprises at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue, more preferably at least 50mg Ca2+/100g, even more preferably at least 80 mg Ca2+/100g, even more preferably at least 120 mg Ca2+/100g of meat analogue. Preferably the meat analogue according to the invention comprises 40 to 450 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue, more preferably 50 to 330 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue, more preferably 80 to 290 mg Ca2+/100g of meat analogue, even more preferably 120 to 260 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue. Ca2+ may be added in any suitable form. At least part of the Ca2+ is preferably added as CaCI2. Ca2+ may also be added as part any of the other ingredients used. It is understood that for this purpose100g meat analogue does not include casing if used even if this is edible.

Plant Fiber

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises psyllium fibre and at least other plant fibre. The at least one other plant fibre is preferably at least 70 % insoluble, more preferably at least 75 % insoluble, most preferably at least 80% insoluble. The percentage solubility of plant fibres can be determined by any accepted method, preferably AOAC 991.43. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises the at least one other plant fibre in an amount of 1 to 6 wt%, more preferably 1.5 to 5 wt%, even more preferably from 2 to 4 wt% by weight of the meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises the at least one other plant fibre being at least 75% insoluble in an amount of 1 to 6 wt%, more preferably 1.5 to 5 wt%, most preferably from 2 to 4 wt% by weight of the meat analogue.

The at least one other plant fibre preferably includes potato fibre, preferably being at least 75% insoluble. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises psyllium fibre and the at least other plant fibre includes potato fibre. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises psyllium fibre and potato fibre.

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises psyllium fibre preferably in an amount of 0.1 to 3 wt%, more preferably 0.2 to 2 wt%, most preferably from 0.5 to 1.5 wt% by weight of the meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises potato fibre in an amount of 1 to 6 wt%, more preferably 1.5 to 5 wt%, even more preferably from 2 to 4 wt% by weight of the meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises 0.2 to 1 wt%, of psyllium fibre and 1.5 to 5 wt%, potato fibre by weight of the meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises 0.2 to 1 wt%, of psyllium fibre and 2 to 4 wt%, potato fibre by weight of the meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises 4 to 15 wt% of dietary fibre.

Gum

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises gum selected from a plant gum, a microbial gum or combinations thereof, preferably in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt%, more preferably 0.2 to 1 wt%, even more preferably from 0.3 to 0.7wt% by weight of the meat analogue.

Unlike starch, gums are indigestible. Gums can be classified according to their source. Microbial gums include gellan gum, xanthan gum and pullulan gum. Plant gums include galactomannans (e.g., locust bean gum, guar gum, cassia gum, tara gum) and konjac mannan. Seaweed derived gums include agar, alginate and the carrageenans (kappa, iota, lambda). Plant gums exclude seaweed derived gums. Preferably the meat analogue according to the invention contain no or less than an effective amount of agar, carrageenan and combinations thereof. In this context an effective amount is an amount of said seaweed gum that would increase the yield stress of the meat analogue compared to the same meat analogue without said amount of said seaweed gum. Preferably the meat analogue according to the invention comprises 0 to 0.1 wt%, more preferably 0 to 0.01wt% of seaweed gum, even more preferably no seaweed gum. Preferably the meat analogue according to the invention comprises 0 to 0.1 wt%, more preferably 0 to 0.01wt% of alginate, even more preferably no alginate. Preferably, the gum is distributed evenly throughout the meat analogue. Preferably, the gum is not added as pre-gelled particles.

Preferably the meat analogue according to the invention comprises 0 to 0.1 wt%, more preferably 0 to 0.01wt% of agar, carrageenan and combinations thereof.

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises gellan gum, preferably in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt%, more preferably 0.2 to 1 wt%, more preferably 0.2 to 1.0 wt%, even more preferably from 0.3 to 0.7wt% by weight of the meat analogue. This may be high acyl gellan gum, low acyl gellan gum and a combination thereof, e.g., CPKelco™ LT100 gellan gum or gellan gum purchased from DSM™). Preferably the gellan gum comprises high acyl gellan gum. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises high acyl gellan gum, preferably in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt%, more preferably 0.2 to 1 wt%, even more preferably from 0.3 to 0.7wt% by weight of the meat analogue. The invention preferably comprises a combination of a plant gum and a microbial gum in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt%, more preferably 0.2 to 1 wt%, even more preferably from 0.4 to 0.7wt% by weight of the meat analogue, preferably this combination comprises xanthan and a galactomannan. Galactomannans include locust bean gum, guar gum, cassia gum, tara gum. The invention preferably comprises a combination of xanthan gum and locust bean gum in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt%, more preferably 0.2 to 1 wt%, even more preferably from 0.4 to 0.7 wt% by weight of the meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises gum selected from a plant gum, a microbial gum or combinations thereof, preferably in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt%, more preferably 0.2 to 1 wt%, even more preferably from 0.4 to 0.7 wt% by weight of the meat analogue, said gum being gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and locust bean gum.

Lipid

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises lipid. Preferably The term “lipid” as used herein refers to a glyceride component that contains at least 80 wt.% of glycerides selected from triglycerides, diglycerides and combinations thereof. Any food grade lipid may be used. Lipid may a liquid oil or a solid fat or both. Liquid oil is liquid at 20°C The term “liquid oil” as used herein refers to an oil that contains no solid at 20°C (N20 = 0%). The solid fat content at 20°C can be determined using ISO method ISO 8292-2:2008.

The term “solid fat” as used herein refers to a fat that contains at least 20% solid fat at 20°C (N20 ³20%).

Preferably, meat analogue according to the invention comprises 1 to 23 wt% of lipid, more preferably 5 to 22 wt%, even more preferably 8 to 20 wt% by weight of the meat analogue. Preferably, meat analogue according to the invention comprises 1 to 23 wt% of liquid oil, more preferably 5 to 22 wt%, even more preferably 8 to 20 wt% by weight of the total meat analogue.

Preferred liquid oils include one or more of vegetable oil, an algal oil, sunflower oil, corn oil. soybean oil, safflower oil, flaxseed oil. rice bran oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil, canola oil, and mango oil. Preferably the meat analogue according to the invention is substantially free from solid fat selected from coconut oil, palm fat and mixtures thereof. It was found that solid fats with SAFA tend to leak out.

Preferably, the meat analogue according to the invention comprises 1 to 25 wt% of lipid comprising at least sunflower oil droplets. Preferably, the meat analogue according to the invention comprises less than 5 wt% of saturated fatty acid (SAFA), more preferably less than 2 wt% of SAFA, preferably 0 to 5 wt%, preferably 0 to 3 wt% of SAFA all wt% by weight of the meat analogue. Casing

If the meat analogue format has an edible casing, preferably a flexible edible casing may be used such as for some type of sausages. Typically, such products are made by stuffing the meat analogue dough into the flexible casing having the form of a tube. Preferably, an edible casing comprises a mix of gums such as alginate, konjac gum. Preferred examples of edible casing include Viscofan© veggie ex Viscofan (Spain). Another type of edible casing may be a coating of alginate co-extruded as an outer layer which is gelled by spraying or submerging with a appropriate salt solution.

If the meat analogue has no casing, the preparation process may include a step of stuffing the meat analogue dough into an inedible casing which is removed before consumption by the user such as with some types of sausages. If the meat analogue is packaged without inedible casing, such inedible casing is removed before packaging. Preferred examples of inedible casing include Wieniepak© (ex ViskoTeepak NV, Belgium) based on cellulose.

Flavouring agent

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises flavouring agent, preferably 0.1 to 20 wt% of flavouring agent, more preferably 0.5 to 10 wt%, even more preferably 1 to 10 wt% by weight of the total composition. Any food grade flavouring agent to provide the desired flavour may be used. Examples include, beef flavour, pork flavour, meat flavour, fish flavour, taste enhancer, yeast extract, spices, herbs, and combinations thereof. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises 0.1 to 3 wt%, more preferably less than 0.1 to 2 wt% even more preferably less than 0.1 to 1 wt% of NaCI by weight of the total meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises less than 5 wt%, more preferably less than 3 wt% even more preferably less than 1 wt% of sugar by weight of the total meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises 0.1 to 10 wt%, more preferably less than 0.2 to 7 wt% even more preferably less than 0.3 to 3 wt% of food grade acid by weight of the total meat analogue.

Other ingredients

The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises less than 3 wt%, more preferably less than 1 wt%, even more preferably 0 to less than 3 wt%, most preferably 0 to less than 1 wt% of soy protein isolate by weight of the total meat analogue. The meat analogue according to the invention is preferably substantially free of soy protein isolate. It was found that avoiding higher amounts resulted in a higher process resilience and improved products. The meat analogue according to the invention preferably comprises 1 to 4 wt%, more preferably less than 1 to 3 wt%, most preferably less than 2 to 3 wt% of methylcellulose by weight of the total meat analogue composition. The process resilience agent part preferably comprises 1 to 4 wt%, more preferably less than 1 to 3 wt%, most preferably less than 2 to 3 wt% of methylcellulose by weight of the total meat analogue.

Packaging

The meat analogue is preferably packaged. Preferably, it is packaged under a modified atmosphere. A modified atmosphere as used herein refers to an internal atmosphere in the packaging having a different composition than ambient atmosphere. Usually the modified atmosphere will have an oxygen concentration which is lower than ambient atmosphere like a ratio of O2 : N2 : CO2 of 0 : 50 : 50. It is also possible to have more oxygen e.g. 70 O2 : 30 CO2_. Preferably, the modified atmosphere is one from which oxygen is substantially depleted or increased to more than 30vol%.

Preparation of the meat analogue by the consumer before consumption The meat analogue may be prepared by the consumer using the usual methods like frying in pan or grilling the meat analogue e.g., using a barbeque for sufficient amount of time to result in a core temperature of at least 70°C for at least 2 minutes, 72°C for preferably at least 1 min, 85°C for at least 1 sec.

Process

The invention also provides a process to prepare a meat analogue comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, said process comprising the steps of mixing the hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part to form a meat analogue, shaping the meat analogue, for example by stuffing the meat analogue into a casing. Preferably, during the shaping step, the meat analogue has a temperature of at least 21°C, preferably of 21 to 35°C, even more preferably 22 to 28°C.

Such temperatures at least 21 °C are unusual in large scale meat analogue production processes where temperatures of the meat analogue dough are preferably kept as low as possible e.g., around 10°C, to minimize hygiene issues. In addition, the step to prepare the process resilience agent part preferably starts at 0 to 5°C. Surprisingly, it was found that when the temperature of the meat analogue was raised to at least 21°C, preferably of 21 to 35°C, even more preferably 22 to 28°C, the meat analogue of the invention could be successfully processed and produced on large scale production equipment.

This increased temperature can be obtained by simply heating the meat analogue in a heated vessel or mixer. Preferably, this increased temperature is obtained by ensuring that either the hydrated non-animal protein part or the process resilience agent part has temperature of at least 30°C, preferably 30 to 50°C, more preferably 30 to 40°C, even more preferably 30°C to 35°C before it is mixed with the other part, such that after the mixing the meat analogue has a temperature of at least 21°C, preferably of 21 to 35°C, even more preferably 22 to 28°C. Preferably, the process resilience agent part has a temperature of of at least 30°C, preferably 30 to 50°C, more preferably 30 to 40°C, even more preferably 30°C to 35°C before it is mixed with the non-animal protein part. This is preferably obtained by applying sufficient shear during the process to prepare the process resilience agent part.

The hydrated non-animal protein part is preferably provided by a process comprising the steps of a) hydrating non-animal protein with water to form a hydrated non-animal protein, b) preferably grinding at least part of said hydrated non-animal protein to obtain ground hydrated non-animal protein, c) preferably, admixing at least one other hydrated to the non-animal protein to the protein of step a) and/or b) d) admixing if present, part of lipid, food grade acid to form a hydrated non-animal protein part.

The process resilience agent part is preferably provided by a process comprising the steps of i. mixing water, crushed ice, said gum, preferably methylcellulose, preferably such that the temperature at the end of this step is between 5 and 10°C, ii. admixing psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre iii. preferably, if lipid is used, admixing at least part of the lipid iv. preferably admixing coloring, salt and flavouring agents for a sufficient amount of time and shear to obtain a homogeneous process resilience agent part, preferably such that the obtained process resilience agent part or the hydrated non-animal protein part has a temperature of about at least 30°C, preferably 30 to 50°C, more preferably 30 to 40°C, even more preferably 30°C to 35°C; The invention also provides a process to prepare a meat analogue, preferably in the form of a meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, said process comprising the steps

A) Mixing the hydrated non-animal protein part and process resilience agent part to form the meat analogue;

B) shaping the meat analogue, if the form of a sausage is desired by stuffing the meat analogue preferably having a temperature of at least 21°C, preferably 23 to 27°C into a casing, if needed cleaned with water before heating;

C) Cooking the encased meat analogue such that the core temperature is 90° to 95°C for at 7 to 10 min;

D) preferably, cooling the heated encased meat analogues with water, preferably a shower, preferably with water having a temperature of 7 to 9 °C, preferably until a core temperature of 5 to 10°C;

E) If casing is to be removed, peeling the encased meat analogue with vacuum, blasts of compressed air and/or steam using a mechanical peeler, preferably at a speed of at least 30 meter meat analogue sausage per minute, preferably at a speed of 30 to 300 meter per minute;

F) optionally packaging the meat analogue preferably under modified atmosphere e.g., 70 O2 : 30 CO2 in portions e.g. of 100-500 gram for sale, whereby the meat analogue may be frozen before and/or after the packaging. Alternatively, the meat analogues may packaged in higher amounts e.g., for restaurants

Surpassingly it was found that cooling step D improved the quality of the sausages.

The invention also provides a meat analogue obtainable by the process according to the invention.

Protocols

Yield stress of the meat analogue

Yield stress of uncooked meat analogue dough was measured using a “Forward extrusion HDP/FE” set up with texture analyzer Stable micro systems™ (type: TA XT Plus Texture Analyzer). 1. Cool the dough to approximately 8-12 °C.

2. Measure the yield stress with a texture analyser: Load cell of 50KG; compression platens probe with a diameter of 49 mm. (See figure 1)

3. Use a cylinder of 50 mm and use a bottom plate with a hole of 17 mm.

4. Fill the cylinder for 4 cm with dough and set the probe 5 mm above the dough.

Start the texture analyser using forward extrusion with the following settings: Test mode: Compression, Pre-test Speed 1.0 mm/sec, Test Speed 1.0 mm/sec, Post-test Speed 10.0 mm/sec,

5. Stop the probe when it is at around 5 mm above the bottom of the cylinder.

6. Use new dough to repeat the measurement (3x).

7. The yield stress is determined by calculating the average force at the time frame of 6- 12 seconds of the measurement.

8. Calculate the average of three measurements.

After several trials if was found that the yield stress was preferably at most 11500g, more preferably at most 11000g, preferably at most 10500g, even more preferably at most 10000g. even more preferably from 5000 to11500g, even more preferably from 5000 to11000g, even more preferably from 5000 to10500g, even more preferably from 5000 tdOOOOg, even more preferably from 2500 t OOOOg,

Protocol to measure the resistance of meat analogue

The resistance of cooked meat analogue was characterized using a three-point bending rig using the Warner-Bratzler blade probe from the HDP/BS blade set from Stable micro systems™. The type of texture analyzer was TA XT Plus Texture Analyzer. Meat analogues were bent at a constant speed until fracture occurred. The fracture distance (mm) obtained was used to estimate the resistance of the meat analogue. While it is understood that the meat analogue may be sold in different shapes for example burger, meat ball, sausage etc. for this test the meat analogue dough is formed like a sausage.

1. Make sure the meat analogue is at 25°C, the meat analogue should have a diameter of 26 mm and a length of 15cm. If casing was used, this needs to be removed.

2. Measure the resistance of the meat analogue with a texture analyser: Load cell of 50 kg; Warner-Bratzler blade probe with a length of 70 mm.

3. Place the meat analogue with the knife in the middle and below the arrow of the knife.

4. Let the knife slightly touch the meat analogue before starting the measurement.

5. Start the measurement. 6. Run the Three Point Bending test macro. When all samples are analysed, a result sheet will be created.

After numerous trials if was found that the resistance was preferably at least 16mm, more preferably at least 17mm, even more preferably at least 18 mm, even more preferably from 16 to 50mm, even more preferably from 17 to 45 mm, even more preferably from 18 to 40mm.

Protocol Slime Laver

The term “Slime Layer” as used herein refers to somewhat slimy layer and other matter which may be present at the outside of a meat analogue after cooking. In case of meat analogues which are cooked in a casing like sausages the Slime Layer may be visible as unattractive wet patches and discolorations lodged between the casing and the surface of the meat analogue sausage.

The amount of Slime Layer can be determined as follows Slime Layer (%) = 100- [(weight of the cleaned meat analogue after cooking)/ (weight of the mean analogue before cooking)*100%]. The cooked meat analogue can be cleaned by wiping it clean and dry with a tissue thereby removing any slime and other matter.

Amount of cooked meat analoque after cleaninq (q)

Slime Layer (%) = 100 - ( - - - - - - - - - - - * 100%)

Amount of meat analogue before cooking ( g )

For meat analogue sausages the following steps may be used whereby the weight of the meat analogue before cooking is equal to the weight of the encased sausage minus the casing:

1. Mark the weight of an encased sausage taken from the middle of strain of cooked sausages. Make sure the outside of the sausage is dry.

2. Peel the casing from the sausage. Use a paper tissue to dry and remove any slime layer and other matter from the casing. Write down the weight of the cleaned casing.

3. Use a paper tissue to dry and remove any slime layer and other matter from the sausage. The sausage is dry when the paper does not become dirty anymore. Weigh the cleaned sausage

4. Calculate the percentage of aqueous mixture loss by using the following formula:

Amount of cooked sausage left after cleaning (g)

Slime Layer (%) = 100 — ( 100%) Weight of encased sausage (g) — Weight of cleaned casing (g)

5. Take the average of at least 3 measurements.

Based on the outcome of many trials if was found that the slim layer was preferably at most 1.5%, more preferably at most 1.4%, even more preferably at most 1.3%. even more preferably from 0 to 1.5%, even more preferably from 0 to 1.4%, even more preferably from 0 to 1.3%.

Tasting

The meat analogues were tasted blind by a panel. First the meat analogues were pan fried. Sausages were fried in 15 g of oil on a medium high heat for about 10 minutes in total. First the sausages were fried for 4 minutes on one side, flipped and then heated for 4 minutes and then fried for another 2 minutes to make sure the sausage is equally golden brown after frying. The sausages were tasted when still hot. Panellist were asked to judge firmness, juiciness, chewiness and overall liking on a scale of 0 to 4 (unacceptable to excellent).

Examples

The invention is further illustrated by the following non-limiting examples. It will be clear to the skilled person how to carry out the invention by using equivalent means without departing from the invention.

Brief description of the figures

Figure 1: Texture Analyser set up and equipment required to measure the yield stress (left and middle) and the set up to measure the resistance (right)

Figure 2: Comparative example I could not be stuffed into a casing, the mass separated under the pressure and no sausage could be formed.

Example 1

The meat analogue compositions in tables 1 and 2 (below were prepared as follows. The meat analogue was prepared by mixing i) a hydrated non-animal protein part and ii) a process resilience agent part to form the meat analogue.

To form a hydrated non-animal protein part a process was used comprising the steps of Dry texturized protein was hydrated with a sufficient amount of water to form a fully hydrated non-animal protein in a suitable mixer like a vacuum tumbler said hydrated non-animal protein was ground to obtain ground hydrated non-animal protein, i.e. , through a plate with 8 mm holes one other hydrated Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) was admixed e.g., Arcon T158- 125 (ADM), liquid oil, food grade acid and other ingredients were admixed to form a hydrated non animal protein part;

The process resilience agent part was prepared by a process comprising the steps of mixing water (0-5°C), crushed ice, CaCI2, gum, methylcellulose at a shear rate during a sufficient amount of time to fully hydrate the methylcellulose, i.e. for 4 minutes at 300 RPM in a bowl chopper. The temperature at the end of this step was between 5 and 10°C, i.e., 8°C. admixing at least one plant fibre at a shear rate during a sufficient amount of time to fully hydrate the at least one plant fibre (i.e., at 2100 RPM for 4 minutes in a bowl chopper) admixing at least part of the lipid (i.e., 8% oil by weight of the total meat analogue at 2100 rpm for 1:30 min) admixing coloring, salt and flavouring agents for a sufficient amount of time and shear to obtain a homogeneous process resilience agent part; the obtained process resilience agent part had a temperature of about 30 to 35°C Subsequently the meat analogue was formed by mixing the hydrated non-animal protein part and the process resilience agent part until a homogeneous meat analogue dough was formed in a suitable mixer like a paddle mixer at speed 2 for 1 :30 min. For hamburgers the obtained meat analogue was shaped into hamburger patties.

For sausages the obtained meat analogue dough having a temperature in the range of 25°C was stuffed into an inedible casing (e.g., Wieniepak© (ex ViskoTeepak NV, Belgium) based on cellulose) having a diameter of 26 mm using a Handtmann™ Vacuum fill pump to prepare sausages of about 15cm length each filled with about 80 gram meat analogue. Some of the meat analogue was stuffed into edible casing (diameter about 30 mm, length about 15 cm, Viscofan© veggie ex Viscofan (Spain)). For smaller trials the sausages were stuffed manually.

The encased sausages were cooked to reach a core temperature of 90°C for 7 minutes. This was done by heating in a steam chamber 15 min at 60°C followed by 25 min at 95°C using 80 to 100% steam.

The cooked sausages were cooled by showering with water (7-9°C) for about 30 min until the core temperature was 7°C. For factory production the cooled sausages with inedible casing were peeled with blasts of compressed air and/or steam and/or vacuum using a mechanical peeler (Marel™ Townsend sausage peeler 2800, air pressure 6.9Bar, max capacity 225 meter sausage/min). For smaller trials, the samples were manually peeled and tested as described. The meat analogues in edible casing were not peeled. The peeled sausages and the un-peeled sausages in an edible casing may be frozen for storage (-18°C) and packaged in bulk for transport. The meat analogues could also be packaged - either before or after freezing - under modified atmosphere e.g. e.g. 70 O2 : 30 CO2 in portions of 100-500 gram for sale in e.g. supermarkets.

Meat analogue compositions in table 1 were prepared as described above (wt% are all by weight of the total meat analogue, except when indicated otherwise) using the following as formulation as base:

The Hydrated non-animal protein part contained 23.38 wt% hydrated and ground Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) based on soy and wheat, [this was prepared from 9.35 wt% TVP hydrated with 14.03 wt% hydration water], 9.35 wt% of high moisture TVP (20 wt% of soy protein, 4.4 wt% of lipid, 5 wt% of carbohydrate by weight of the high moisture TVP) 3.37 wt% of TVP (Tradcon T, 70 wt% soy protein dry weight or Arcon T158-125, (ADM)), 2.8 wt% of sunflower oil, 0.6 wt% of spirit vinegar.

The Process Resilience part contained 13 wt% crushed ice, 8wt% of sunflower oil, 0.2% of coloring agents, 2.5 wt% methyl cellulose, 5.03 wt% of flavouring agents, salt and sugar, the process resilience agents as indicated below and water to balance to 100 wt% (total water in the meat analogue was between 52 and 56%). At least part of the Ca2+ was added as CaCI2.

Table 1. Comparative examples A-D (without gums, without CaCI2)

The meat analogues were prepared using the meat analogue formulation above as base and the process resilience agents as described below

Table 2 Comparative examples E-G and examples 1.1 and .12 according to the invention.

(Ingredients were sourced in Europe, US and China)

Tasting

The meat analogues were tasted blind by a panel. First the meat analogues were pan fried. Sausages were fried in 15 g of oil on a medium high heat for about 10 minutes in total. First the sausages were fried for 4 minutes on one side, flipped and then heated for 4 minutes and then fried for another 2 minutes to make sure the sausage is equally golden brown after frying. The sausages were tasted when still hot. Panellist were asked to judge firmness, juiciness, chewiness and overall liking.

Results

After several lab scale trials and corresponding factory trials, yield stress, Slime Layer and resistance measurements and tasting could be correlated with process resilience resulting in good yield of large scale production: lack of problems with handling and processing, mechanical peelability, no broken, slimy mushy sausages. A scoring was established from 0 to 4 for each of tested features: yield stress, slime layer, resistance and tasting. A score of zero for any of the features correlated with problems with handling during production, problems with stuffing, meat analogues which were not mechanically peelable, high rejection rates, broken meat analogues, slimy and mushy meat analogues. A score of four represented a good or excellent performance on the tested features.

None of the comparative examples showed process resilience and failed one or more of the tested features by scoring at least one 0: handling problems during large scale manufacturing, unsuitable for mechanical peeling, producing mushy, slimy products. Comparative example A to was found to be unacceptably firm and not juicy at all and was not mechanically peelable. Comparative example B, C and D were found to be mushy and soft. Comparative examples A, C, D, E, F and G were not mechanically peelable and showed a resistance (mm) of respectively 8.6, 14.1, 9.4, 15.1, 14 and. 9.4 equivalent to a score of 0 Comparative examples C, D, G scored a 0 for yield stress (respectively 11882g, 14199g and 12881 g) resulting in handling problems during large scale production. Comparative examples A, B, C, D, E all scored 0 on Slime Layer having respectively, 4.2%, 2.5%, 5.1%, 2.6% and 2,5%. The inventive meat analogues 1.1 and 1.2 showed a surprisingly good process resilience scores with a good handling during large scale producibility, mechanical peelability and scored excellent on yield stress (10184g respectively 9678g) and resistance (31 and 18.8 mm respectively). The inventive meat analogues were not slimy (Slime Layer scored a maximum of 4 with 1.2% respectively 0.7%) nor mushy but were judged in the blind tasting to be juicy, firm and having the highest overall likeness.

Example 2

The following comparative examples H to L were prepared according to Example 1 except that a meat analogue base without methyl cellulose was used to establish the effect of methyl cellulose separately. (wt% are all by weight of the total meat analogue, except when indicated otherwise).

None of the comparative examples showed process resilience and failed one or more of the tested features by scoring at least one 0: handling problems during large scale manufacturing, unsuitable for mechanical peeling, producing mushy, slimy products. Comparative example H and I were problematic to stuff into the casing, after cooking very brittle and could not be peeled mechanically. Comparative example H showed an extreme Slime Layer of 16.2% and a resistance of only 5.6 mm scoring two zeros, J and K were so brittle they broke before the resistance could be tested and scored 0. Comparative example I could not be stuffed into a casing, the mass separated under the pressure and no sausage could be formed and therefore no blind tasting either (see Fig 2). Comparative example L scored a zero for respectively Slime Layer (2.3%) and for showing insufficient resistance.

Example 3

Comparative example M was prepared as comparative example H with the following composition: 1,1 wt% citrus fibre, 2.5 wt% of methylcellulose, 2.5 wt% of a mixture of kappa- carrageenan/konjac mannan/KCI (ratio of carrageenan to konjac mannan 3:2 and a ratio of those carrageenan/konjac mannan to KCI of 9:1). It was unsuitable for successful large scale factory production scoring 0 for a yield stress of 11716. (wt% are all by weight of the total meat analogue, except when indicated otherwise). Example 4 Meat analogue compositions (wt% are all by weight of the total meat analogue, except when indicated otherwise) prepared according to example 2.

The inventive meat analogues 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 showed a surprisingly good process resilience scores with a good handling during large scale producibility, very good mechanical peelability and scored excellent on yield stress (9477g) and resistance (28mm). The inventive meat analogues were not slimy (Slime Layer between 0.3 and 1.1 %) nor mushy but were judged to be juicy, firm and having the highest overall likeness.

Claims

1. A meat analogue, preferably a vegan meat analogue sausage, comprising a hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part, said process resilience agent part comprising psyllium fibre and at least one other plant fibre, gum selected from microbial gum, plant gum or combinations thereof, and Ca2+ in an amount of at least 40 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; said meat analogue further comprising food grade acid, lipid and flavoring agents, preferably whereby the meat analogue is mechanically peelable at a speed of at least 30 meter per second.

2. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims comprising less than 5 wt% of saturated fatty acid (SAFA) by weight of the meat analogue and preferably less than 3wt% of soy protein isolate.

3. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims whereby the meat analogue has a resistance of at least 16 mm and/or a yield stress of at most 11000g, whereby resistance refers to the resistance of the cooked meat analogue as measured according to the protocol described herein; whereby the yield stress refers to the yield stress of the uncooked meat analogue without casing as measured according to the protocol described herein.

4. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims whereby the at least one other plant fibre is at least 75% insoluble, preferably as determined using AOAC 991.43.

5. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims whereby said gum comprises gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum.

6. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims whereby the at least one other plant fibre comprises potato fibre.

7. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims whereby said process resilience agent part comprises 0.1 to 3 wt% psyllium fibre, 1 to 6 wt% potato fibre, 0.1 to 2 wt% of gum, said gum comprising gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and a galactomannan gum, and Ca2+ preferably in an amount of 40 to 450 mg of Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; and preferably 1 to 4 wt% methylcellulose.

8. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims whereby the meat analogue comprises 50 to 330 mg Ca2+ ions/1 OOg of meat analogue.

9. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims preferably in the form of a vegan sausage comprising: a) 8 to 25 wt % of non-animal protein; b) 50 to 330 mg Ca2+/100g, preferably 80 to 290 mg Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; c) 0.1 to 3 wt%, preferably 0.2 to 2 wt% of psyllium fibre; d) 1 to 6 wt%, preferably 1.5 to 5 wt% of potato fibre; e) 0.1 to 2 wt% of gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and locust bean gum; f) 5 to 22 wt% of liquid oil; g) flavouring agents; h) preferably, coloring agents; i) methylcellulose; j) preferably less than 1 wt% of sugar; k) 40 to 65 wt% of water;

L) food grade acid; m) 0 to 3 wt% of saturated fatty acid (SAFA).

10. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims whereby the meat analogue comprises 1 to 3 wt% methyl cellulose.

11. A meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims preferably in the form of a vegan minced meat analogue sausage with an edible casing comprising: a) 8 to 25 wt % of texturized non-animal protein preferably comprising soy protein, pea protein or a combination thereof; b) 120 to 260 mg Ca2+/100g of meat analogue; c) 0.2 to 2 wt% of psyllium fibre; d) 2 to 4 wt% of potato fibre; e) 0.2 to 1 wt% of gellan gum and/or a combination of xanthan gum and locust bean gum; f) 8 to 20 wt% of liquid oil; g) flavouring agents; h) preferably, coloring agents; i) 2 to 3 wt% of methylcellulose; j) less than 1 wt% of sugar; k) 40 to 65 wt% of water;

L) food grade acid; m) 0 to 3 wt% of saturated fatty acid (SAFA); said meat analogue preferably being substantially free of coconut oil.

12. A process to prepare a meat analogue according to any one of the preceding claims said process comprising the step of A) mixing the hydrated non-animal protein part and a process resilience agent part to form a meat analogue, B) shaping the meat analogue, preferably whereby the meat analogue has a temperature of at least 21°C, preferably of 21 to 30°C, even more preferably 22 to 28°C.

13. A process to prepare a meat analogue according to the preceding process claim whereby either the non-animal protein part or the process resilience agent part has temperature of at least 30°C, preferably 30 to 50°C, more preferably 30 to 40°C, even more preferably 30°C to 35°C before it is mixed with the other part, such that after the mixing the meat analogue has a temperature of at least 21°C, preferably of 21 to 35°C, even more preferably 22 to 28°C during the step B) shaping the meat analogue.

14. A process to prepare a meat analogue according to the any one of the preceding process claims whereby at shaping step B) the meat analogue is stuffed into a casing said process further comprising the steps of

E) If casing is to be removed, mechanically peeling the encased meat analogue with vacuum, blasts of compressed air and/or steam using a mechanical peeler, preferably at a speed of at least 30 meter meat analogue sausage per minute, preferably at a speed of 30 to 300 meter per minute;

F) packaging the meat analogue, preferably under modified atmosphere.

15. A meat analogue obtainable by the process according to any one of the preceding process claims.