Formulating vegetarian foods: the appearance of Mad Cow disease in North America adds impetus to a growing interest in vegetarian foods. Formulation tactics—whether to replicate meat's sensory qualities or to produce an eating experience that is satisfying without meat—are discussed

Prepared Foods, August, 2003 by Martha Porter

While monitoring recent media coverage of the reports of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as Mad Cow disease, in North America, many wonder how great its impact will be on growing consumer interest in non-meat foods. For example, U.S. university students, a demographic group whose interests often foretell future trends, increasingly are demanding meatless meals. An online survey sponsored by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) shows that colleges continue to offer more meatless and non-dairy meal options. Perhaps the food industry has not taken complete advantage of this opportunity. Charles Stahler, co-director of the Vegetarian Resource Group (Baltimore, Md.) says that demand for vegetarian meals at colleges had grown so much that schools felt distributors had not added selections fast enough. (See Website Resources at the end.)

People choose a vegetarian lifestyle for many reasons.

1. Health. Vegetarian diets, which are low in saturated fat, are used to reverse coronary artery disease, control Type II diabetes, and lower the incidence of hypertension.

2. Environmental Concerns. It takes 7 lbs. of grain to produce 11b. of beef. Eating lower on the food chain is kinder to the environment since more people are fed with less land resources.

3. Safety Concerns. E.Coli- and Salmonella-contaminated meats have caused high-profile cases of illness. Also, Mad Cow (BSE) disease has been found in Canada. BSE, thought to cause a variation of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, has been a public health concern in Europe since 1996. In an April 2001 USA Today article entitled "Europe's Tastes are Changing," author Ellen Hale noted that market has seen an increased demand for vegetarian choices. For example, in England. McDonald's offers a vegetarian burger on its menu.

4. Animal Rights. Members of PETA and other supporters of animal rights believe in limited use of animals.

5. Spirituality, Seventh Day Adventists reject meat in their diet. Buddhists and Hindus respect the souls of animals and do not consume them.

The term "vegetarian" covers a variety of eating patterns. This impacts how products are formulated. (See "Choice Decision" chart.)

At the highest level, there are two philosophical approaches to formulating vegetarian entrees. The first is to simulate the perception of meat for the consumer. The second is to produce all eating experience that is satisfying without meat. (See "A Non-meat Approach" sidebar.)

The meat simulation approach focuses on consumers that appreciate meat's sensory attributes, but want a non-meat choice. Boca Foods Co. (Kraft Foods, Glenview, Ill.), Worthington Foods (Kellogg USA, Battle Creek, Mich.), Lightlife Foods (ConAgra, Omaha, Neb.), Yves Veggie Cuisine (Hain-Celetial Group, Uniondale, N.Y.), Gardenburger Inc. (Portland, Ore.), Marlow Foods (Astra Zeneca, Middlesbrough, U.K.) and Amy's Kitchen Inc. (Petaluma, Calif.) use this approach. All have products in the frozen foods section of grocery stores.

Soy-based Ingredients

Soy proteins are a good form of meat analogs. Sarwar McDonough's "Evaluation of protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score method for assessing protein quality of foods" (J. Assoc. Off Anal. Chem. 1990; 73: 347-356) noted that soy protein is nutritionally complete, containing of the essential amino acids.

Textured or structured soy protein (TSP) is used in vegetable "burgers." The different methods used to manufacture and purity soy proteins determine the proteins' functionality. The characteristics desired in the final product determine the selection of the soy protein. Texture, piece size, and protein functionality are considerations.

Soy protein concentrates are traditionally manufactured using aqueous-alcohol to remove the soluble sugars from the soy flour. The resulting, low solubility protein can absorb water but lacks the ability to gel or emulsify fat. These protein concentrates are used to manufacture the textured soy concentrates found in many meat analogs.

Research in the area of the viscoelastic properties of heated gluten and/or soy protein gels has led to the combination of soy protein and gluten to increase the meat-like texture of the product (Apichartsrangkoon, A., 2002. "Dynamic Viscoelastic Properties of Heated Gluten/Soy Protein Gels" J. of Food Science; 67: 653-657). Gluten provides elasticity to the matrix. Textured protein products using combinations of soy protein, gluten, and carbohydrates (starches) are commercially available.

Spun fiber technology can be used to produce fibrous textured protein from isolated soy proteins. The resulting structure closely resembles meat fibers. This option is more expensive due to high manufacturing costs.

Tofu and tempeh are other forms of soy. Tofu is made by curdling soy milk (a slurry of protein extracted from the bean) and pressing the curds into blocks. Tofu's pH is about 4.2. Its texture is controlled by the amount of water used in the extraction process. A firm or extra firm tofu can replace meat chunks in a formulation. It can be handled or conveyed without significant breakage and can be frozen. Marinating mild-flavored tofu in ingredients of a desired flavor profile can enhance its taste. Marinating requires a minimum of 24 hours with the best results coming after several days.