The demand for meat alternatives made from plants and insects is continuously increasing. The reason for this among consumers is not only the increased awareness of environmental protection and sustainability, but also the health aspect. Industry and trade are reacting to this trend and increasingly developing plant-based alternatives. Brabender also has various equipment solutions for the production of meat substitutes from alternative proteins in its portfolio and will be at the International Meat Industry Trade Fair (IFFA) in Frankfurt with its own trade fair booth from 14 to 19 May. At the exhibition stand, the Duisburg-based company will be carrying out live extrusion on a laboratory scale and using the TwinLab-F 20/40 twin-screw extruder and the Modular Cooling Die to produce a meat-like strip from soy protein concentrate that can be further processed into a burger patty: “The extruded strip forms the preliminary product for a vegan burger and still needs to be shredded and mixed with additives. Then the meat substitute can be pressed into shape, fried and eaten”, explains Michael Landers, application technician at Brabender.

Meat alternatives from plants and insects

The fact that more and more customers are interested in meat substitutes is also noticeable at Brabender: “We have recently received more and more enquiries about meat alternatives made from insect and plant proteins”, says Landers. Besides soy protein, proteins from pumpkin and sunflower seeds, lupins, fruit flies, mealworms and hemp can also be processed into plant-based meat analogues.

Other devices that Brabender is showing at the international trade fair with more than 900 exhibitors and around 63,000 visitors are the MT-CA for determining material moisture as well as the ViscoQuick and the Convimeter II as solutions for determining the viscosity of a wide variety of materials in laboratory and production environments.

Juicy meat substitute from legume flour

One of the latest applications at Brabender is a collaborative project with the company Müller’s Mühle. The two companies have analysed the quality of various legumes, such as lentils, peas, fava beans and chickpeas. In addition to the water absorption and gelatinisation properties of pulses flour (analysed with Farinograph and ViscoQuick), they have developed a time-saving method for measuring the oil absorption of pulses flour by using Absorptometer C. In the production of meat substitutes from pulses, the oil absorption properties of the flour are important for the optimal oil addition in an extrusion process and finally also to guarantee the juiciness of the final product.

Brabender will be showing its entire range of products and services at IFFA in Hall 9.1 on booth F20.