Growing demand for meat alternatives

Increasing consumer concerns over sustainability and the global food chain, the rise of veganism, plant power and clean eating trends have facilitated diverse new product innovations in the global meat substitutes market, according to Innova Market Insights.

The meat substitutes market is reported to be growing at 8.7% annually in the US and 4.9% in the UK. As part of this trend, even major meat companies are investing in start-ups and companies making plant-based and vegan meat substitutes.

But formulating meat-alternatives is not simple — especially as consumers want their tasty meat analogs to be low in sodium. Traditionally, significant amounts of salt have been added to the products to overcome common off flavours from plant protein.

Israeli company Salt of the Earth has completed a series of trials of plant-based, vegan and vegetarian meat alternatives that contained less sodium. Instead they incorporated their Mediterranean Umami clean-label sodium-reduction ingredient.

The ingredient is clean-label, all-natural and rich in umami flavour compounds. It helps enhance individual flavour notes and contributes to an overall savoury flavour profile with a significant reduction of salt. The company is claiming 25–35% sodium reduction across a variety of vegan and vegetarian products. Vegan hamburgers, vegetarian ‘chicken’ nuggets, seitan-based products and frankfurter-style sausages all exhibited positive results in taste and texture.