News

The authors of this study developed a targeted proteomics approach using LC–MS/MS and cross-species marker peptides with the potential to quantify meat in vegan and vegetarian foods. The method is designed to achieve the threshold of 0.1% w/w that is commonly applied for unintended cross-contamination.

 Protein extraction and digestion were optimized for rapid, simplified, and highly efficient sample preparation. Three matrix calibrations (0.1–5.0% w/w meat, each) were applied to vegan sausages and burger patties spiked with pork, chicken, or beef meat. The four markers DFNMPLTISR, DLEEATLQHEATAAALR, IQLVEEELDR, and LDEAEQLALK showed the highest accuracies for the determination of meat contents (recovery rates of 80–120%).

Although purchase is required for the full paper (here) the work builds upon previous publications and this supporting information is available free of charge (following the same link).  This includes detailed description of the statistical analysis; meat marker peptides before and after their re-evaluation; pea marker peptides; details of the LC runs; base materials and further ingredients for the vegan sausages and vegan burger patties; defatting/dehydration efficiencies of PLE and in-tube defatting/dehydration; comparison of extraction buffers and trypsin concentrations (matrix: vegan sausage with chicken meat); properties and comparison of different trypsins; chromatograms of the meat marker peptides from different matrixes; linear regressions derived from the quantifiers of the meat marker peptides in different matrixes; trueness and precision; mean signal-to-noise ratios at given meat contents.

Photo by LikeMeat on Unsplash

Pork made from plants launched by Impossible Foods

A plant-based pork substitute has been launched in Las Vegas by one of the leading "alternative meat" producers.

Impossible Foods, the firm behind the Impossible Burger, says it hopes to appeal to a global audience with its latest vegetarian-friendly meal, which it unveiled at the CES tech show.

Pork is currently the most widely consumed meat in the world.

The company hopes the product will help it break into China. But one expert said it might find that a challenge.

The first product to feature the foodstuff - the Impossible Sausage - will be available next week at 67 Burger King restaurants in the US, in a sandwich-based dish called the Croissan'wich.

Read full story.

A US federal bill that would require plant-based and cell-cultured meat products to be labelled as ‘imitation’ meat has been welcomed by beef producers and slammed by plant-based meat advocates, as the row over terminology in the burgeoning space heats up. The bill would mean that any imitation meat product would be deemed to be misbranded unless its label bears the word ‘’imitation’’ as well as a statement that clearly indicates that the product is not derived from or does not contain meat. The term beef would exclude both plant-based and cell-cultured meat from using the term. The bill is aimed at transparency of products to consumers. Read full article.