Texture Testing: Meat & Plant-based Proteins

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Mecmesin - On-demand event
On-demand
Presenter(s)
Drew Lambert

The quality of meat is determined by a number of factors including, tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. These factors are important attributes for meat texture and palatability, so much that any variations will influence a consumer’s decision to repurchase, and the same is true for alternative, and plant-based protein sources.

The primary goal when measuring texture is to capture an objective value to something that is typically evaluated very subjectively. Texture cannot be controlled unless it measured in a consistent and repeatable manner. This is applicable in anything from maintaining constant quality, to understanding shelf life, and even in how new formulations affect the finished good.

This webinar will focus on not only focus on meat, but also how the technology applies to the up-and-coming plant-based protein market. Over the last couple of years, we have had many requests in this area, so we want to share what we have learned.

What You’ll Learn:

  • General Overview and Recap of Texture Basics
  • Different Meat/Meat Analogue applications
  • How the basic test types are applied to specific products.
  • How to decide on what kind of test to do?
  • What do the results mean?

Who should attend?
Anyone working in food R&D, Q/A, Q/C, and production should find this informative, along with students and professors in the areas of Food Science and adjacent areas of study. Most plant-based protein products are being developed to mimic the texture of a more traditional meat product. One thing that we have noticed is that many of the companies working with these products are “new” to texture as many are startups or simply a company from a different market trying to capture a piece of newly emerging market. For this reason, its important for us to educate as much as we can.

While this will be specific to meat, meat analogs, and plant-based proteins, the techniques can be applied to a wide range of products. Additionally, students and faculty in the areas of food science, food engineering, nutrition, and other adjacent areas may have interest.