Sep 17, 2021 02:12 AM
A blue food revolution
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/928723
INTRO: An unprecedented review of the aquatic foods sector has uncovered how fisheries and aquaculture can play a greater role in delivering healthy diets and more sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems around the world.
Five peer-reviewed papers in the journal Nature highlight the opportunities to leverage the vast diversity of aquatic, or “blue," foods in the coming decades to address malnutrition, lower the environmental footprint of the food system, and provide livelihoods.
“People are trying to make more informed choices about the food they eat, in particular the environmental footprint of their food,” said Ben Halpern, a marine ecologist at UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, who with colleagues examined the environmental sustainability of aquatic foods, the potential for the growth of small-scale producers and the climate risks that face aquatic food systems. “For the first time we pulled together data from hundreds of studies on a wide range of seafood species to help answer that question. Blue foods stack up really well overall and provide a great option for sustainable food.”
The research projects that global demand for blue foods will roughly double by 2050, and will be met primarily through increased aquaculture production rather than by capture fisheries.
Investing in innovation and improving fisheries management could increase consumption even more and have profound effects on malnutrition. For instance, a “high growth” modeling scenario showed that increasing supply by 15.5 million tons (8%), causing a drop in prices, would reduce cases of nutrient deficiencies by 166 million, especially among low-income populations.
“Small-scale fishers — the individuals and small boats that fish in places all around the world — are a huge part of the global seafood system and are incredibly diverse in who they are and how they fish,” said Halpern, who also directs the National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis at UCSB. “That diversity creates both opportunities and challenges for sustainably managing the oceans. We unpacked this diversity to help guide better management.”
Blue foods were found to rank more highly than terrestrial animal-source foods in terms of their nutritional benefits and potential for sustainability gains.
Many blue food species are rich in important nutrients. Compared to chicken, trout has approximately 19 times more omega-3 fatty acids; oysters and mussels have 76 times more vitamin B-12 and five times more iron; and carps have nine times more calcium... (MORE)
New meat analogue developed by Lithuanian scientists – healthier, more flavours & environmentally friendly
https://en.ktu.edu/news/new-meat-analogu...-friendly/
RELEASE: A team of researchers from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania and the University of Helsinki have proposed an extremely nutritious meat analogue using fermented okara (soy press cake). The innovation developed by the Lithuanian scientists can change the meat analogue industry offering a product that has less salt and saturated fats and more flavour than real meat.
Millions of people worldwide suffer from digestive disorders. In the US alone, digestive diseases affect over 60 million people yearly according to NIDDK. Experts say that the probiotics produced during fermentation can help restore the balance of friendly bacteria and, by enhancing the quantity of free amino acids as well as minimising the effect of anti-mitogenic substances, may alleviate some digestive problems.
Although fermented foods are rich in nutrients and fermentation can produce ingredients that improve smell and taste, the researchers from KTU Food Institute were among the few who relied on this process in meat analogue production. “Meat analogues are the future food. Both business and science will have to reconsider the effect of using secondary raw materials, and it will benefit all the parties by reducing costs and saving resources. We believe that science is the key to an efficient shift,” says one of the authors of the study, Dr Alvija Šalaševičienė, the Director of KTU Food Institute.
New component for the meat analogue industry. The group of researchers from KTU and the University of Helsinki produced meat analogues by adding fermented okara, the by-product of soy milk production, to the plant-based matrices. Okara samples were fermented by applying probiotics L. plantarum P1 and L. acidophilus 308 strains. The products containing different amounts of fermented okara modelled under different conditions were then evaluated.
The study concluded that the use of fermentation makes okara a suitable component for meat analogues. According to the sensory and nutritional analysis, the optimum condition for producing meat analogues was the application of 6% okara in the matrices fermented by L. plantarum P1, when the matrices and okara are maturated at 4 °C for 2 hours.
“Meat industry has deep-rooted traditions and people possess a clear expectation how a pork or beef burger, chicken sausage or other meat product should look, smell, taste and feel like. That’s why when modelling a meat analogue, we need to clearly identify what we are developing and what qualities it should have,” explains Dr Šalaševičienė.
For example, during the project EIT FOOD RIS CEL 2021 (KAVA (no 19153-21060.)) it was determined that although Lithuanian senior consumers are willing to use such meat analogues produced from plant origin material, however the sensory properties of the products that are currently available in the market are less appealing in comparison with meat.
Fermented okara-based meat analogue is healthier. According to researchers, there are many health-induced reasons for reducing meat consumption: it is hard to digest, the amounts of saturated fat raises “bad” cholesterol, also meat foods are usually over salted as fat reduces the flavour.
Meat analogues with fermented okara have more free amino acids, which diminish the antinutritional factors, therefore are more easily digested than meat. Besides, the meat analogues modelled at KTU laboratories contain less fat and saturated fat but the same amount of protein – about 14-18% depending on different recipe variations.
“Non-hydrogenated oils containing only small amounts of saturated fat were used while developing our products. Thanks to the small amount of fat we were able to create characteristic flavours by using only 1% of salt. Among the eleven ingredients used in our product are only natural spices, pigments and aromatic compounds, and no preservatives”, says Dr Gitana Alenčikienė, senior researcher at KTU Food Institute, a co-author of the study.
Currently, there are no commercialised meat analogue products with okara. However, the researchers are convinced that, as the organic waste recycling is becoming more and more relevant in today’s world, their modelled meat analogue will find its way to the market.
Future challenge: food from waste. Meat analogue with fermented okara is one of many products created by the researchers of KTU Food Institute. Recently, their pea-based meat analogue won the local innovation fair.
“Both meat analogues are nutritionally valuable: our product with fermented okara is more easily digested and the pea-based meat analogue is enriched with iron, which is very important for the normal functioning of the human organism. While creating our products we aim to solve at least one nutritional problem – be it calorie control, lack of fibre or iron, or sluggish digestion process”, explains Aelita Zabulionė, researcher at the KTU Food Institute.
The researchers emphasise – every new plant-based product widens the choice for consumers and can reduce the usage of processed meat products. Meat analogues enriched with fibre, microelements, vitamins, amino acids, processed to remove antinutrients from raw materials are, according to them, the future food. Reusing different organic waste such as okara for food production could be one of the most important challenges to solve.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/928723
INTRO: An unprecedented review of the aquatic foods sector has uncovered how fisheries and aquaculture can play a greater role in delivering healthy diets and more sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems around the world.
Five peer-reviewed papers in the journal Nature highlight the opportunities to leverage the vast diversity of aquatic, or “blue," foods in the coming decades to address malnutrition, lower the environmental footprint of the food system, and provide livelihoods.
“People are trying to make more informed choices about the food they eat, in particular the environmental footprint of their food,” said Ben Halpern, a marine ecologist at UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, who with colleagues examined the environmental sustainability of aquatic foods, the potential for the growth of small-scale producers and the climate risks that face aquatic food systems. “For the first time we pulled together data from hundreds of studies on a wide range of seafood species to help answer that question. Blue foods stack up really well overall and provide a great option for sustainable food.”
The research projects that global demand for blue foods will roughly double by 2050, and will be met primarily through increased aquaculture production rather than by capture fisheries.
Investing in innovation and improving fisheries management could increase consumption even more and have profound effects on malnutrition. For instance, a “high growth” modeling scenario showed that increasing supply by 15.5 million tons (8%), causing a drop in prices, would reduce cases of nutrient deficiencies by 166 million, especially among low-income populations.
“Small-scale fishers — the individuals and small boats that fish in places all around the world — are a huge part of the global seafood system and are incredibly diverse in who they are and how they fish,” said Halpern, who also directs the National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis at UCSB. “That diversity creates both opportunities and challenges for sustainably managing the oceans. We unpacked this diversity to help guide better management.”
Blue foods were found to rank more highly than terrestrial animal-source foods in terms of their nutritional benefits and potential for sustainability gains.
Many blue food species are rich in important nutrients. Compared to chicken, trout has approximately 19 times more omega-3 fatty acids; oysters and mussels have 76 times more vitamin B-12 and five times more iron; and carps have nine times more calcium... (MORE)
New meat analogue developed by Lithuanian scientists – healthier, more flavours & environmentally friendly
https://en.ktu.edu/news/new-meat-analogu...-friendly/
RELEASE: A team of researchers from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania and the University of Helsinki have proposed an extremely nutritious meat analogue using fermented okara (soy press cake). The innovation developed by the Lithuanian scientists can change the meat analogue industry offering a product that has less salt and saturated fats and more flavour than real meat.
Millions of people worldwide suffer from digestive disorders. In the US alone, digestive diseases affect over 60 million people yearly according to NIDDK. Experts say that the probiotics produced during fermentation can help restore the balance of friendly bacteria and, by enhancing the quantity of free amino acids as well as minimising the effect of anti-mitogenic substances, may alleviate some digestive problems.
Although fermented foods are rich in nutrients and fermentation can produce ingredients that improve smell and taste, the researchers from KTU Food Institute were among the few who relied on this process in meat analogue production. “Meat analogues are the future food. Both business and science will have to reconsider the effect of using secondary raw materials, and it will benefit all the parties by reducing costs and saving resources. We believe that science is the key to an efficient shift,” says one of the authors of the study, Dr Alvija Šalaševičienė, the Director of KTU Food Institute.
New component for the meat analogue industry. The group of researchers from KTU and the University of Helsinki produced meat analogues by adding fermented okara, the by-product of soy milk production, to the plant-based matrices. Okara samples were fermented by applying probiotics L. plantarum P1 and L. acidophilus 308 strains. The products containing different amounts of fermented okara modelled under different conditions were then evaluated.
The study concluded that the use of fermentation makes okara a suitable component for meat analogues. According to the sensory and nutritional analysis, the optimum condition for producing meat analogues was the application of 6% okara in the matrices fermented by L. plantarum P1, when the matrices and okara are maturated at 4 °C for 2 hours.
“Meat industry has deep-rooted traditions and people possess a clear expectation how a pork or beef burger, chicken sausage or other meat product should look, smell, taste and feel like. That’s why when modelling a meat analogue, we need to clearly identify what we are developing and what qualities it should have,” explains Dr Šalaševičienė.
For example, during the project EIT FOOD RIS CEL 2021 (KAVA (no 19153-21060.)) it was determined that although Lithuanian senior consumers are willing to use such meat analogues produced from plant origin material, however the sensory properties of the products that are currently available in the market are less appealing in comparison with meat.
Fermented okara-based meat analogue is healthier. According to researchers, there are many health-induced reasons for reducing meat consumption: it is hard to digest, the amounts of saturated fat raises “bad” cholesterol, also meat foods are usually over salted as fat reduces the flavour.
Meat analogues with fermented okara have more free amino acids, which diminish the antinutritional factors, therefore are more easily digested than meat. Besides, the meat analogues modelled at KTU laboratories contain less fat and saturated fat but the same amount of protein – about 14-18% depending on different recipe variations.
“Non-hydrogenated oils containing only small amounts of saturated fat were used while developing our products. Thanks to the small amount of fat we were able to create characteristic flavours by using only 1% of salt. Among the eleven ingredients used in our product are only natural spices, pigments and aromatic compounds, and no preservatives”, says Dr Gitana Alenčikienė, senior researcher at KTU Food Institute, a co-author of the study.
Currently, there are no commercialised meat analogue products with okara. However, the researchers are convinced that, as the organic waste recycling is becoming more and more relevant in today’s world, their modelled meat analogue will find its way to the market.
Future challenge: food from waste. Meat analogue with fermented okara is one of many products created by the researchers of KTU Food Institute. Recently, their pea-based meat analogue won the local innovation fair.
“Both meat analogues are nutritionally valuable: our product with fermented okara is more easily digested and the pea-based meat analogue is enriched with iron, which is very important for the normal functioning of the human organism. While creating our products we aim to solve at least one nutritional problem – be it calorie control, lack of fibre or iron, or sluggish digestion process”, explains Aelita Zabulionė, researcher at the KTU Food Institute.
The researchers emphasise – every new plant-based product widens the choice for consumers and can reduce the usage of processed meat products. Meat analogues enriched with fibre, microelements, vitamins, amino acids, processed to remove antinutrients from raw materials are, according to them, the future food. Reusing different organic waste such as okara for food production could be one of the most important challenges to solve.