Why it appears that mycoprotein will capture some market share in the plant-based
Even though food has existed for as long as humans have, it is now recognized as a vital area of technology for human advancement. Food, like most other industries, has seen rapid innovation, quick cycles of product adoption, and a thorough search for distinction in an increasingly competitive market in recent years. This has been especially true for the plant-based and alternative protein sectors.
The advent of texturized soy and wheat (gluten) proteins through extrusion technologies represented a turning point in the plant-based industry, where the goal is to replace meat with more ethical and sustainable solutions.
Despite the fact that these products were a good beginning, the industry found it difficult to satisfy consumers when dealing with the intrinsic sensory qualities of these proteins, such as undesired flavor and taste notes and distinct textures that don’t fit every product that the market demands.
Other plant protein sources, such pea protein, and techniques that produce textures closer to meat, like high-moisture extrusion (HME), entered the mainstream market and industry as a result of later advancements. Even with noticeable advancements, there are still some old problems, and there is always a need for better materials, products, and processes.
As the plant business has flourished, another source of protein has been quietly developing. This protein source is called “mycoprotein” in the industry and refers to a search that goes beyond plants and animals into the third kingdom of life: fungi.
Mycoprotein: what is it?
Up until around ten years ago, Quorn was the only brand that would always come up when someone answered this question. The UK brand’s study began in the 1960s, examining thousands of various types of fungi found in soils, for example, in an effort to identify a species that could develop into a cheap, quick, and nutritious food source. By using this fungus to make food products, the company rose to the top of the UK’s vegetarian goods market.
Since “myco” comes from the Greek word mýkēs, which means “mushroom, fungus,” mycoprotein literally means “protein from fungi.” However, the word is a little deceptive because it suggests that, similar to plant proteins, it involves extracting and concentrating a protein from a fungal cell.
Actually, the term “mycoprotein” refers to the entire fungal organism, or technically, the “spores,” which has a protein content of 45–70% on dry matter, which is as high as most protein isolates. There is no extraction method involved in the manufacture of mycoprotein.
Although eating mycelia from fungi may seem foreign to you, it’s not. Tempeh is a classic Indonesian dish made from fermented soybeans and fungi that build a mycelium structure around the beans, essentially producing a mycelium block. This is one of the typical examples of fungal mycelia in cuisine. Other typical meals include cheeses like brie, which develops a mycelium crust on the outside due to the growth of a white fungus.
- You may also like:
Food security in emerging nations: issues and remedies
Are drinks the secret to increasing cannabis use among consumers?
Managing the lack of labour for mushroom picking
Mycoprotein can be produced industrially in a number of ways, the most popular of which being liquid fermentation. With this technology, modern techniques are applied in a process that resembles beer brewing within a fermentation vessel called a bioreactor. In this instance, fungi are grown utilizing a combination of liquid nutrients at exponential rates. This technique is quick enough to finish the growth and harvesting of an entire industrial bioreactor in a single day.
Why is mycoprotein the ideal answer for the food sector?
In order to stay ahead of the competition, the alternative protein industry is currently pushing three different boundaries at once: creating products with excellent texture and taste that can rival meat; providing customers with novel food experiences; and accomplishing all of these tasks in a way that is competitively priced.
Because plant-based protein products must disguise the off-notes in their flavor and formulate against these effects, improving the taste of these products is frequently an uphill battle. These proteins’ textures are undoubtedly useful in some contexts, but they are inappropriate in others—for example, applications involving fish and seafood. Although certain protein sources can perform better in terms of the previously specified parameters, they are unable to do so at a cost that is competitive or in the necessary quantities.
Choosing not to utilize plants is perhaps the best strategy to get around the problems with plant-based proteins. Because of the integrity of their cellular structure, mycoprotein from fungi can provide taste profiles that are distinctly neutral when compared to proteins derived from plants. The range of textures required by the food business is also met by the textures produced using various fungal mycelia and production methods.
Additionally, because fungal organisms grow efficiently and fermentation methods are scalable, this process’s cost-effectiveness gains a great deal from technological advancements and, in the long run, can provide true price competitiveness with the meat sector.
We’re talking about an entire food system here, one in which productive crops that provide carbohydrates may be cultivated and subsequently fermented by fungus to produce protein, given its potential to affect global food networks. This method of producing mycoproteins offers an alternate method of producing proteins that uses significantly less water and land per kilogram of product and emits less CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions and far less water and land utilization per kilogram of product.
Furthermore, since the nutrient inputs for fungal growth can originate from a range of different crops depending on what is produced locally, this is not dependent on weather or geography.
The revolutionary new form of protein
Mycoprotein makes up a modest portion of plant-based protein sources; its estimated quantities provide less than 5% of the world’s supply of alternative proteins.1, 2
Produced by a single corporation under a single consumer brand, its production has been centralized and its distribution restricted to specific regions. However, the number of businesses that are dedicated to creating, marketing, and trying to commercialize mycoprotein goods has increased dramatically in recent years, and the vast majority of plant-based manufacturers are already thinking about including mycoprotein products in their line of business. This has been made easier by the establishment of businesses like Mycorena3, whose mission is to sell mycoprotein to food makers as an easy-to-use ingredient, thereby increasing the mycoprotein’s presence to big mainstream brands in a wide range of international markets.
Similar to the rise of desktop 3D printing over the past ten years, this emergence era also aligns with the expiration dates of the majority of Quorn’s patents related to mycoprotein synthesis technology, enabling an expanded market with a range of suppliers and solutions. Based on the production volumes predicted by the developing market participants, the market for plant-based proteins could see a significant increase in mycoprotein presence this decade, perhaps accounting for over five times the market share.
Unique mycoprotein-based goods are also making their way onto the market. These products employ cutting-edge production methods to attain distinctive qualities, which is creating opportunities for new products in the alternative protein industry. Animal fat replacement4 and dairy replacement goods are among the new product categories to which this technology is being utilized, going beyond protein and meat replacements.
A genuinely decentralized method for producing proteins
It might be conceivable to do something that hasn’t been seen in the food market before, particularly in the area of plant-based protein: the establishment of a completely decentralized, reliable, and extremely sustainable system for producing protein. In a system where different types of crops from different regions can be used as inputs, different manufacturers with facilities located all over the world can carry out the mycoprotein production process (producing different or the same type of output, depending on the need), and various food brands can use the final ingredient in a wide range of products. A system like this has the capacity to provide a high degree of food security and steady development prospects for the system overall, independent of a single participant, place, or circumstance.
Mycoprotein offers clear benefits for the global food system, making it appear like a solution the industry needs and wants.