Researchers discover corn protein could unlock better texture in alt-meat products

19 Jun 2023 --- An Ontario research team has developed a new method for creating meat substitutes using corn protein with the same fibrous qualities as a steak or chicken breast. They are leveraging Canadian Light Source (CLS) technology and utilizing the abundant waste product, corn zein, for structure.

Sales of plant-based meat products are leveling off and consumers are demanding better texture and mouthfeel in alternative products as the plant-based space continues its evolution. 

Most meat substitutes available today use texturized vegetable protein. These products are made by combining fine and coarse particles of texturized protein, then binding this with starches, gluten and other ingredients.

Replicating the texture qualities of real meat
Producing whole-muscle meat analogs can be challenging due to the difficulties in mimicking the structure and texture of a piece of beef or chicken. Additionally, this form of plant-based meat substitute often requires extensive processing and expensive equipment.

Using CLS, an Ontario research team has developed a new method for creating meat substitutes with the same fibrous qualities as a steak or chicken breast using corn protein.But, Canadian researchers from the University of Saskatchewan have now developed a new method for creating meat substitutes. However, it relies on the existing physical and molecular properties of specific plant proteins and their interactions with one another – rather than intensive processing.

“We were looking at the market, and we saw this opportunity to take a step back and use some fundamental ingredients such as protein and starch, to combine them and create a novel, whole meat-muscle analog,” says lead researcher Stacie Dobson, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph.

Utilizing corn zein for structure
The key ingredient that provided the structure the researchers were after is zein, the primary storage protein in corn. 

Zein can be isolated from corn gluten, an abundant agricultural waste product. Plant-based cheeses are already taking advantage of their fiber-forming capability.

Dobson reveals that her team – including scientists from Lakehead University – knew zein had viscoelastic or stretchy properties. They were curious whether they could use this to create a fibrous system. 

The scientists found that combining and then “stretching” certain starches and proteins yielded a meat substitute, the texture of which closely matched that of cooked chicken and beef.

Using the CLS’s BMIT and Mid-IR beamline enabled Dobson and her colleagues to see how the starches and proteins interact and to study the differences in density of the fibers running through their samples.

“FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) Spectromicroscopy is a unique technique. It’s as if you took a picture of your sample, and then you go to look at each of the pixels that make up your picture. They can tell you information about your sample. In our case, we could differentiate what happens around the fibers,” she explains. 

Dobson hopes to build on her team’s findings to create new whole-muscle meat substitutes that are affordable and better satisfy consumers’ expectations around texture.

This has not been the first time recently that corn has been spotlighted as an environmentally sustainable ingredient. Earlier this month, Dow entered into a long-term supply agreement in North America with biomass refineries operator New Energy Blue, which is set to create bio-based ethylene from renewable agricultural residues from corn. 

Edited by Elizabeth Green