Plant-based food is a class of foods that primarily substitutes sustainable plant-based protein sources where animal proteins such as meat, eggs or dairy products would traditionally be used. Through the use of common plant-based staples such as tofu, beans, grains, vegetables and flours as well as more innovative ingredients such as algae and mycoproteins, these foods are meant to match the taste, texture, color, and nutritional profile of specific types of meat, cheeses, milk, eggs, butter, yogurt and more. Companies that identify specific plant-based food and beverage ingredients and influence consumer trends stand to benefit, because this market is set to continue growing.
In all regions of the world, the trend toward plant-based food is driven by concerns about health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. To meet health concerns in plant-based food development, it is vital to ensure that products meet local labeling standards and that nutrition content as stated on packaging is correct. Therefore, quality control and analyses of plant-based food is especially important for individuals seeking to consume dairy or meat alternatives for health reasons. The desire to generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions may also drive plant-based food analysis, as certain consumers want to be sure that the foods they choose are produced using fewer resources (i.e., less energy, water, and land).
METTLER TOLEDO has a portfolio of laboratory instruments that are designed to assist you across the lifecycle of plant-based food and beverage development as you seek to meet these demands. Our products support you with plant-based ingredient analysis and formulation from the lab to the production floor, helping you with the accurate evaluation of raw materials and novel ingredients including the quantification of individual nutrients for labeling accuracy.
Figure 1: Simplified illustration of the process for the production of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives
Raw materials
Dry grinding for meat alternatives, grinding with water for dairy alternatives
Homogenization, mixing and flavoring
Preconditioning with water, oil or steam
Processing: typically extrusion for meat alternatives and filtering, sterilization for dairy alternatives
Meat alternatives
Dairy alternatives
Lab analyses and applications often used in the R&D or quality control laboratory when developing and testing plant-based foods include:
Can be important during recipe formulation or when preparing samples for analyses such as HPLC/GC
Using halogen moisture analysis, loss on drying, or Karl Fischer titration, to help ensure ingredient or product quality and help to determine shelf-life
Such as titration for sodium content determination or protein according to Kjeldahl, UV Vis for glucose/fructose and vitamin content, balances for fat content according to e.g., Soxhlet, as well as ash and fiber content
Including density, refractive index, melting point, or UV Vis
Using pH meters, balances and pipettes, which can help to ensure shelf-life (and may be of particular importance when working with novel plant-based food ingredients)
E.g. TMA or TGA for shelf-life studies or DSC for compound characterization
Ensures the safety, texture, and flavor of the plant-based protein products. pH determination is also important in quality control to ascertain the shelf life of a final product.
Plant-based foods are foods meant to mimic animal-based products that are derived from plant materials such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, greens, beans and pulses that can also include so-called functional foods. Recently, plant-based foods have come to the fore as consumers become increasingly concerned about the health and environmental impacts of consuming diets that are high in animal protein.
Plant-based food products include meat analogs (plant-based burgers, “fish” filets, “chicken” patties, and ground “beef”), nut- and grain-based dairy products (“milk,” “cheese,” and “butter”), and egg substitutes. These products are intended to deliver the look, taste, and mouthfeel of the original and may also be included in plant-based or vegan ready meals.
Plant-based foods also include more traditional vegetarian or vegan products such as tempeh, tofu and miso. Plant-based pet foods are also gaining ground in certain marketplaces.
Plant-based food manufacturers have the same requirements and face the same challenges as producers across the food industry. R&D and quality-control labs focus on expanding their product range and improving existing recipes. New ingredients that may help to maximize taste, consistency, color, appearance, and aroma are tested, and formulas may undergo slight adjustments to perfect results. Weighing and recipe-management systems must support these tiny tweaks. At the same time, food producers must work to meet production budgets, optimize shelf life, decrease time-to-market, and meet regulatory requirements. Intuitive formulation management, precise and repeatable weighing, and secure data handling can help with plant-based food formulation and quality control as producers seek to meet consumer demand for high-quality plant-based food sources.
Areas that require reliable testing in R&D, production and quality control are similar to those used across the food industry. Goods-in may require weighing, moisture content testing, purity determination via UV Vis, density, refractive index, or a combination of plant-based food testing methods. Formulation may require weighing, dosing, and moisture testing. Moisture content, melting/dropping point, and weighing, may be helpful in production. Outgoing products may need additional moisture testing or quality control.
Of course, proximate analysis is also important for plant-based food ingredients declaration purposes. Energy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar, protein and salt, also called the Big 7, likely need to be declared. Requirements for allergen labeling and measurements of dry matter, water content, ash, fiber, minerals and vitamins may also be important, depending on the product and region. METTLER TOLEDO offers an extensive portfolio of laboratory equipment to support these key plant-based food testing areas.
For plant-based food development, a variety of lab instrumentation is required. Some instruments are required to ensure plant-based food testing methods are met. Others are designed to ensure that quality control requirements are fulfilled.
As mentioned above, proximate analysis is important. This can include titration for determination of salt or chloride content, or to assist in protein quantification according to the Kjeldahl method. For fat determination, a Soxhlet extraction is the reference method in most cases, which requires a balance. Carbohydrate content and the vitamin content of plant-based foods can be determined using UV Vis. Moisture analyzers can help with dry matter or moisture content determination, while Karl-Fischer titration is used for specific water-content assessment (which can be important for shelf-life and quality). Balances also play a key role when determining ash or fiber content.
Formulation is also critical at this stage. This means developing recipes for plant-based foods based on the weight of particular ingredients, many of which may be rather small in comparison to the final product or batch. This requires the right laboratory balance, as well as reliable tracking and tracing capabilities to help ensure that the right ingredients are added, which reduces rework and waste. Laboratory instrumentation including pipettes may be even more important than usual when looking to develop meat, milk and egg analogs.
The lab instrumentation noted above, including titrators, moisture analyzers, balances, UV Vis and Karl Fischer titrators, and melting/dropping point instruments are all important for plant-based food quality control. This includes the control of incoming goods and the individual ingredients that are common in plant based foods (meat analogues, etc.). METTLER TOLEDO offers robust instrumentation designed to deliver accuracy and to assist you with the quality control of plant-based food ingredients. Our robust portfolio of lab instrumentation may be of particular importance when working with atypical ingredients (such as fermented products, novel seed flours, microalgae and mycoproteins).
Quality control in plant-based food production often includes the laboratory instrumentation noted above, as well as accurate laboratory balances, moisture analysis, UV Vis and titration equipment. It may also require formulation software, larger scales and weigh modules, and product-inspection equipment.
