MAIN QUALITY PARAMETERS AND DIFFERENT FATS INCORPORATION IN COMMERCIAL PLANT-BASED MEAT ANALOGUES (PBMA): MAPPING THE PATH FOR PBMA FORMULATIONS
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21894/jopr.2025.0035
Received: 2 August 2024 Accepted: 21 April 2025 Published Online: 22 July 2025
Despite extensive efforts on the research of plant-based meat analogues (PBMA), little has been reported on the study of the incorporation of oils and fats, especially concerning the potential of palm oil in the plant-based meat industry. This study analysed the physicochemical properties and quality parameters of 17 commercially available PBMA, including nuggets, sausages, meatballs and mock meats. Analysis showed that mycoprotein-based nuggets had greatest texture hardness, while sausages fortified with konjac powder and mushrooms had the best cooking yield and moisture retention. Fat content was key to desired mouthfeel, with PBMA needing 8%-20% total fat (about 6% saturated fat), to optimise the texture. The other ideal ranges for main ingredients were 50%-70% water, protein content of 10%-30% (up to 39% for mycoprotein) and 50%-60% of mushroom for mushroom-based products. Correlation analysis demonstrated strong positive correlations for springiness, resilience and cohesiveness. Sausages and mock meats were tightly clustered, but nugget products showed more variability. Palm oil proved its worth as a versatile ingredient, doing well in a wide variety of product types and combinations. These findings provided the fundamental physicochemical parameters for the future formulation of PBMA products.
KEYWORDS:1 Malaysian Palm Oil Board,
6, Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi,
43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
* Corresponding author e-mail: hazrati@mpob.gov.my