Is a new era beckoning for meat analogs?

Meat analogs in pet foods are products that survive heat sterilization (canning) and mimic ‘real’ meat appearance and texture. Including meat analogs in pet food products can make the product stand out.

Mimicking steak

Starting around the 1960s, science and technology innovations saw accelerated development, patenting and industrialization of meat analogs. Steak could be mimicked using plant-based extrusion, and offal (kidney or liver) mimicked using hydrocolloid gelation of meat slurry. These innovations were both exciting and revolutionary in wet pet food evolution. But they became less popular with pet food premiumization and the demand for high meat content.

So, what does the future hold for the next generation of meat analogs?

Alternative proteins interest

Alternative protein innovation is a key area in human and animal nutrition, including pet food. Based on welldocumented benefits around nutrition, sustainability and animal welfare, ingredients like insect meal are starting to appear in dry pet food (8-12% moisture) as alternative proteins replacing conventional sources. In terms of structure, dry pet food (kibble) is not designed to mimic meat texture and has a relatively simple porous structure. Kibble structure is formed by extrusion processing of cereals and protein meals to create a starch-based matrix with meat protein inclusion.

By comparison, structurally wet pet food (70-80% moisture) is a more heterogeneous matrix. This is typically based on high meat content (as natural meats or heat-set chunks), hydrocolloid gels and thickeners. The low inclusion level of dry ingredients makes alternative proteins formulation more challenging, especially when their current market price is considered.

Opportunities

However, innovative plant-based meat analog technologies, including high moisture extrusion and shear cell technology, offer exciting opportunities for creating meat-like textures using alternative proteins. Innovative opportunities include the development of flexitarian wet pet food (based on meats and plant-based meat analogs) and increased texture differentiation in vegan/vegetarian dog food. Combinations of different technologies and ingredient functionality also create further opportunities for innovative concepts, for example, shrimp analogs.

Keep it simple?

While there are many interesting meat analogs appearing in the human food sector, one area of concern is the use of food additives to create the desired organoleptic characteristics of real meat, namely, appearance, texture, juiciness, taste, aroma, etc. Could the use of these additives put off pet owners looking for ‘clean label’ products? Using meat analogs in a simple, ‘clean label’ pet food formulation might be more achievable and acceptable, given the differing organoleptic expectations of pet food and human food.

Exciting future!

Future implementation of next-generation meat analogs presents many challenges, including scaleup, cost and pet owner attitudes towards their use. Marketing approaches are an important consideration, as alternative names like ‘fake meat’ and ‘faux meat’ might give the perception of cheap recipes to create low-cost fillers that detract from the intended benefits. Transparency is key – pet owners must know what meat analogs are and hear a convincing story about the benefits, including their use in human food.

When these challenges are overcome and marketing is tuned in an appropriate way, we might see a new era of meat analogs in wet pet food. I am excited about the future, are you?