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Food technologists are using all the tricks of the food design toolbox to make burger patties made from vegetable raw materials similar in taste and texture to the original beef patty.
However, an American comparative study shows that the substitute and the original differ significantly in terms of nutritional physiology. By studying the metabolome of plant-based meat substitutes and their animal-derived counterparts, scientists at Duke University (Durham, NC, USA) were able to obtain a much more differentiated picture of the products' composition than classical nutritional analysis allows. When comparing the classic nutritional value profiles, the meat substitutes now seem to hardly differ from their role models. Metabolome analysis, on the other hand, also looks at the physiological processes involved in digesting the products. And here, clear differences were revealed. The beef contained 22 metabolites, while 31 metabolites were identified from the plant product, some of which differed significantly from those from the meat. The plant-based substitute lacked nutritionally important components that play a role in human health. Conversely, valuable components not found in meat were found in the plant-based alternative. The researchers emphasized that the study is not about an evaluation of the two alternatives. Rather, consumers should realize that a plant-based meat substitute product is not 100% from a nutritional perspective, even if the alternative products are perceived to be similar to the animal original.
YOUR PLUS: AGROLAB carries out the classic studies on the nutritional profiles of meat and meat substitute products, as well as the microbiological and sensory evaluation of the products. In addition to the declaratory mandatory information, we determine vitamins, allergens, amino acids, mineral and trace elements, and much more, if required.
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Autor: Dr. Frank Mörsberger
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