ICL Food Specialties is addressing primary “pain points” in the plant-based category at the ongoing IFFA trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, with alt-protein based on the textured soy protein, Rovitaris SproutX. 

“On one hand, we’re seeing an increasing interest in hybrid or balanced protein products. Our concepts offer customers a cost-optimized, nutritionally optimized, and sustainable solution without any compromise in terms of taste and texture,” Karen Emerson, Alternative Protein sales and development manager at the company, tells Food Ingredients First on the show floor.

“Plant-based seafood is one of the fastest-growing plant-based categories in Europe. For this reason, we’ve developed a vegan calamari solution and a vegan tuna salad based on our Rovitaris SproutX.”

With Rovitaris SproutX, ICL leverages food tech start-up Daiz Engineering’s germination technology to tackle taste and texture problems in soy proteins. According to Emerson, food formulators stand to benefit from its flavor-boosting properties.

“Consumer research tells us that taste and texture are still the main barriers to entry and the primary pain points in this category.”

“Rovitaris SproutX has an improved amino acid profile, which boosts the umami notes while reducing off-notes. It also has an optimized phospholipid content, which improves succulents and juiciness. So what this means for formulators is that they no longer have to use expensive masking flavors or other types of flavors, ultimately creating a better finished product.”

Plant-based parity

According to a ProVeg report on plant-based price parity, 70% of consumers believe plant-based food is more expensive and harder to afford than animal-based products. The plant-based sector must achieve price parity with its conventional counterparts for large-scale adoption.

“What we can see across Europe is that countries that have a smaller difference in the price of plant-based meat versus conventional meat have higher plant-based meat consumption,” reveals Emerson.

ICL is showcasing a hybrid meatball solution at IFFA to demonstrate how incorporating soy protein can lower production costs in a bid to support price parity.

“When we did our cost analysis of the hybrid meatball, what we saw is that if consumers reduce or replac 35% of the meat with Rovitaris SproutX, it offers significant cost savings. Our emulsion solutions can also be tailor-made with any cost or nutritional guardrails for the producer.”

Sodium reduction and clean label

A changing regulatory landscape and consumer consciousness are scrutinizing salt content in F&B applications. This has spurred innovation in sodium reduction and clean label positioning as consumers prioritize nutrition more actively, but from an industry perspective, functionality mustn’t suffer.

“Nutrition optimization and sodium reduction are key for meat and plant-based meat producers if they want to future-proof their product,” Emerson notes.

“Certain regions and countries in Europe are leading the way with salt reduction programs, like the UK and the Netherlands. Our primary salt reduction solution is Salona, a natural mineral product from the Dead Sea, and can be used as a partial replacement for salt.”

Emerson highlights that producers can reduce the sodium content of their finished products by up to 30% with Salona.

She notes that while “clean label” traditionally meant “a short list of recognizable ingredients,” the definition is expanding in the alternative and plant protein space.

“Consumers are becoming more nutritionally and environmentally aware, meaning that now, clean labels also include the sustainability and healthfulness of those ingredients.”

“The primary clean label concern for plant-based meat is methylcellulose, an E number that needs to be used as a binding solution in a lot of these products. ICL Food Specialties in the US has just launched a new innovation based on lemna protein, which can be used as a methylcellulose alternative.”

The ingredient is currently undergoing Novel Food approval status in Europe.

As the world steadily moves toward diversifying protein sources amid environmental, ethical, and cost challenges plaguing the meat and poultry industries, Emerson says scaling up alt-protein technologies will herald the next big shift in the space.

“Over the next 18 to 24 months, I expect to see scaling up of cultivated meat, fermentation-made proteins, and then the integration of these technologies into the existing value chain.”

“I expect developers to continue looking for white space and develop products in emerging plant-based categories, such as plant-based seafood, deli meat, and hybrid products. I hope to see the acceleration of key regulatory processes, like the Novel Food approval system. That means that innovators can bring solutions that answer market needs to the market quicker.”