Plant-Based Meat Analogues and Meat Alternatives

Dear Colleagues,

As an important part of a balanced diet, meat has played an important role in the evolutionary development of humans. Meat and meat products are essential source of nutrients, especially high-quality protein. With the growing population and expanding economy, the global meat market and demand continues to grow, which poses a huge challenge to meat production and safety. The market for plant-based meat analogues is rapidly generating due to the increase in product supply. Plant-based meat has similar smell, texture, and appearance to real meat. Therefore, the requirement for plant-based meat analogues has expanded not only to vegetarian consumers but also to meat-eating and meat-loving consumers. Meat analogues based on plant proteins have received increasing attention, including the improvements in taste, texture, colour, flavour, and other sensory attributes to better replicate traditional meat. Furthermore, healthy ingredients and safe methods must be selected to ensure the safety of meat alternatives. In addition, healthy new raw materials can be selected to replace the nutrients in meat and meat products. Therefore, a systematic and comprehensive analysis of these factors will be of great help in promoting these meat alternatives in the food industry and for assessing their safety. Our Special Issue mainly focuses on the following aspects: raw material selection; processing methods and processes of plant-based meat; a series of processes related to plant meat such as flavour, appearance, and texture improvement; changes in and control of quality of plant meat during storage and its control methods and mechanisms; consumer acceptance and nutritional safety of food; and selection and application of fat substitutes. With this Special Issue, we hope to complement developments in the plant-based meat sector, increase consumer choice, and promote human health. We welcome articles and reviews on such research.

Prof. Dr. Xiufang Xia
Dr. Fangfei Li
Dr. Bo Wang
Guest Editors

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• plant-based meat
• meat replacement
• ingredients
• plant proteins
• sensory properties
• texture
• processing technology/processing techniques