Oilseed vegetable protein concentrates

Soy protein concentrates are articles of commerce in the U.S. and other areas of the world. The procedures for producing these products involve processes where the protein is “immobilized” by various procedures, whereby soluble materials such as carbohydrates, mineral matter, and other water or alcohol soluble constituents are removed. There have been four general procedures which have been used commercially, but recently a fifth procedure involving what might be referred to as a “triple” solvent procedure has been developed. While the commercial products available, at least in the U.S., are from soy, development work has been carried out to produce concentrate products from peanut, sunflower, sesame, and rapeseed. However, there are no commercial installations for producing protein concentrates from these oilseeds. A brief discussion of the various processes is presented.     

Retorted meat and vegetable protein combinations

Soy proteins are the most versatile, widely used and accepted of the vegetable proteins. Flours and grits are not often used in retorted products because of their flavor. Textured flours are limited in their applications because of the intensification of their beany flavor and their loss of structure on retorting. Concentrates have an improved flavor profile, but relatively low functional properties, and are used as protein supplements and water and fat absorbers in some retorted products. Structured concentrates have a bland flavor profile and retain their good flavor and texture on sterilization and are well suited to a variety of retorted products. When high levels of extension with structured concentrates are used, adjustments may be necessary to increase the binding properties of the mass. The binding, gelling and emulsifying properties of soy protein isolates are particularly useful in retorted products since these properties are maintained at sterilizing temperatures. Novel methods of augmenting or dilating meat products using isolate-salt-polyphosphate brines are outlined, including the preparation of restructured meats. The use of textured proteins and isolates in the preparation of reformed or restructured meats is also described.     

Regulatory outlook on vegetable protein

Vegetable protein products are increasing in use in the U.S. diet, especially in substitutes for the traditional animal-protein foods: meat, seafood, poultry, eggs and cheeses. This is occurring despite an ample protein supply which permits U.S. consumers to eat about twice the recommended protein levels. Cost, dietary preferences and the functionality of vegetable proteins appear to assure further increases. In order to permit continued development of these products, while at the same time assuring their nutritional adequacy and providing informative labeling, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued comprehensive tentative regulations. The regulations prescribe that the primary products be named as vegetable flour, vegetable protein concentrate and vegetable protein isolate when they contain less than 65%, 65% up to 90% and 90% or more protein respectively—except that gluten products may be referred to as such. When vegetable protein products are used as protein sources in whole or partial substitution for meat, seafood, poultry, eggs or cheese foods, the name of the substitute food must include the term vegetable protein product. Such substitute foods must be nutritionally equivalent to the original foods to avoid being called imitation. Imitation products must also be named to indicate the nature of the products, such as their use of vegetable protein ingredients. Nutritional equivalency is defined by nutrient profiles for six classes of foods: break-fast or lunch meats; seafood, poultry and other meats; eggs; cream cheeses; cottage cheeses; and natural cheeses. Fortification of substitute foods to meet nutritional equivalency requires their nutrition labeling. The FDA regulations also require that the PER of substitute foods containing vegetable protein products at more than 30% when combined with meat, seafood, poultry, eggs or cheeses shall be at least 100% that of casein. At 30% or less, the required PER is 80% that of casein. Specific USDA rules or FDA regulations such as the proposed standards for milk, cream or cheese substitutes take precedence over the general vegetable protein regulations. It is FDA intent to finalize the vegetable protein regulations as soon as possible.     

Textural contribution of vegetable protein products

Many textural characteristics of food products may be affected by soy protein products. Texture may produce, may limit, may restrict certain of the functional properties of soybean products which have been discussed at this meeting. This paper describes some of the types of textures which soybean products contribute to food products, some of the methodology employed in producing the more common textures, and the rationale for the production of varying textures.     

Hydroformylation of vegetable oils and the potential use of hydroformylated fatty acids

Hydroformylation consists in adding a formyl group over a double bond. This reaction can be applied successfully to oils from natural resources as they are constituted of triacylglycerols or fatty acids derivatives containing at least one internal unsaturation. Herein we report on hydroformylation of vegetable oils and the potential applications of the resulting hydroformylated compounds in the field of bio‐sourced chemicals, especially polymers, lubricants and plasticizers.     

Meat and vegetable protein blends for engineered foods

The meat industry in the United States offers the biggest volume potential for vegetable protein. American Meat Institute reports a 1977 tonnage of 4,377,937,031 pounds of sausage products. Our research with various protein sources is discussed. Emphasis is placed on soy protein products currently available and approved by government agencies. Formulations and requirements for satisfactory products is outlined with economic justifications for soy flour, concentrates and isolates. A thorough discussion of extruded and/or engineered foods is presented showing utilization of mechanically deboned meats, recovered meat proteins from pork and beef rendering, and vegetable proteins in combination with beef and pork. The nutritive values of mechanically deboned chicken and structured soy protein gave PERs over 3.0 with good amino acid balance.     

Trends in industrial use of vegetable oils in coatings

Alkyd resins continue to be a major factor in coatings. Increased oil consumption in alkyd manufacture is not expected to be significant. Projections indicate a modest growth in total coatings usage at 2–3% per year. The industry is facing diverse coating performance demands that will bring unusual, more costly ingredients into use, probably at the expense of traditional oil-based alkyd resins. Offsetting this oil usage decline, perhaps, will be the continuing cost advantage of the relatively low-priced vegetable oils and the general versatility of alkyd resins. Increased use of oil-based resins is expected in emulsion (latex) paint modifiers to improve adhesion and early water resistance. The coatings industry, at least in maintenance and industrial coatings, is adopting a cost/sq ft/year economic evaluation, facotoring in the useful life of the coating.     

Use of vegetable protein in processed seafood products

In comparison to other muscle foods like red meats, utilization of vegetable protein products in seafood is limited, and can be considered to be in its infancy. The opportunities are not predicated entirely on the future. Opportunities exist today, and vegetable protein products such as soy can and will impact on the seafood market. The opportunities for soy protein products in seafood are and will be realized in terms of nutrition, functionality, and economics. The change in price of frozen fish paste caused by the influence of the 200-mile zones was 2 to 2.5 times in one year. In contrast, the price of soy protein products has not changed during the same period. Obviously, this price difference has an important impact on the demand for soy protein products. As the price of fish in Japan has risen, consumers have tended to avoid buying fish products, and there has been a trend toward buying animal products. Consequently, the use of textured soy proteins in these animal protein foods has also increased. Japan has a long and well developed tradition of eating soybean foods, and at the same time, Japan possesses a high level of scientific technology concerned with new soy protein foods. The whole nation, including the consumers, producers, academic societies and the government, is of the consensus that soybeans are a good food source whose consumption should be encouraged and increased. In spite of such favored conditions, utilization of soy protein foods in Japan has not really taken off even after almost 20 years of development. Reasons for the slow expansion of the market are many. However, the definite factor which decisively affects the increased use seems ultimately to be a balance between the quality and price of the products. In Japan the balance would become favorable to soy protein because of the limited fish resources as well as recent advances in the technology of soy protein foods. Several formulations for fish/soy products are presented.     

Economic considerations on the use of vegetable proteins in Danish meat products

Use of vegetable proteins in meat products in Denmark is discussed with special reference to economy. Aspects of price vs. quality also are discussed, and performance criteria in the evaluation of vegetable protein products are proposed. Examples are given of recipe optimization with soy protein products, and finally the market perspectives are outlined. It is emphasized that no conflict is seen between the use of vegetable proteins in meat products and agricultural or consumer interests.     

A case study of the introduction of vegetable protein into school meals

The Inner London Education Authority operates 1,070 Schools in the 12 Central Boroughs of London. The Education Act of 1944 imposed on Local Education Authorities a statutory duty to provide school lunches for all maintained Primary and Secondary School pupils who wanted them. In I.L.E.A. schools some 230,000 (65%) children take school meals daily. The Department of Education and Science gives local Authorities detailed advice on the nutritional content of the school meal and how it should be achieved. The last review of these standards was carried out by a Government Working Party in 1975. Concurrently the Food Standards’ Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was reporting on its investigation into Novel Protein Foods. It was these two reports which opened the way to the introduction of Vegetable Protein into school meals. In this paper the Principal Education Catering Organizer for I.L.E.A. discusses how these two reports were implemented in his Authority and describes in detail the program of introduction to brief the 8,000 catering staff involved. Vegetable protein has been incorporated into the I.L.E.A. school meals program since January 1977, and the success of this program is discussed.     

The use of hydrogenated fish oil to extend vegetable oil

During the last four years, national production of fish oil has increased appreciably due to the expansion of the "reduction" industries (fish flour). Nevertheless, this production is almost totally destined to industrial use (lubricants, tannery, etc.). In contrast, some countries like Japan, Canada and Peru have been using oil from different fish species for human consumption. In view of the above, the objectives of the present work were: first, to establish the experimental conditions for obtention of a hydrogenated fish oil and second, the formulation of fish and vegetable oil mixtures for use in the food industry. The methodology followed comprised: 1) characterization of crude fish oil through physical and chemical analysis; 2) adaptation of the vegetable oil refining procedures to fish oil, and 3) development of fish oil with vegetable oils. A hydrogenated fish oil with a melting point of 36 degrees C, iodine index of 80, and lovibond color, yellow 20, red 13, was produced. Based on the results of the sensory test, the possibility of using up to 30% extension of this oil with vegetable oils for frying, and up to 50% extension for baking, without affecting acceptability of product, was established.     

Economic advantages of using vegetable protein products in Scandinavia

Sweden is a small country with different habits and traditions compared to the rest of Europe and even to the rest of Scandinavia. Numerous special conditions important for the economics of using vegetable protein are reviewed. Sweden is outside the EEC and has a protectionist agriculture policy. The food standards are rather special. Since 1973 government subsidies have been made for some important base foods like milk, cheese, meat and processed meat products. This has meant an increasing per capita consumption for these products as well as increasing problems of selling protein for substitution of meat or milk protein. A hesitancy to use vegetable proteins is due to, among other things, bad marketing and inferior products in the beginning of the 1970s. By tradition recombined meat products contain a lot of dry ingredients as, for instance, potato starch and rusks. The water content is high and the meat and fat contents are rather low. The process economy of using soy protein isolate lies very much in the possibility of better yield control. According to a Delfi Study, the future will bring an increasing usage of vegetable proteins in Sweden, While the total protein consumption, however, will not increase.     

Review of European legislation on vegetable protein in meat products

A review of the legislation concerning the use of vegetable protein products in meat products is given for 15 West European countries. Existing requirements in these countries concerning composition and labeling of meat products containing vegetable protein are compared, and it is shown that wide divergencies exist. Some countries explicitly forbid addition of vegetable protein to meat products, other countries permit such additions in specified amounts to specific meat products and others again do not set limitations on either the amount of vegetable protein or the type of meat products to which they may be added. Labeling provisions, likewise, vary to a great extent. These differences are linked to the regulations on meat products in the various countries which often reflect a strong national tradition. In most of the countries no general approach to regulating use of vegetable proteins in meat products has yet been taken. But a few of the countries are formulating such a policy, and the possible outcome of these ongoing deliberations is outlined.     

Basic principles underlying a legislative framework for vegetable protein

New food products appear on the market every day in one country or another. Provided they conform to the food laws currently in operation, there are no obstacles to the sale of such foods. The question is asked as to why special provisions are sought for or are needed to enable foods based on vegetable protein products to be marketed. The discussion given mainly centers on developed countries with “Western” type diets; developing countries and countries with traditional soy products are briefly mentioned. The four main viewpoints, of which account has to be taken, are outlined. These originate from the consumer, the manufacturer, the government regulatory and health authorities, and finally the enforcement authority where this is independent of the regulatory authority. Each of these contribute, in differing degree, to the questions of safety as regards health, nutritional adequacy, labeling and absence of deception, and the ability to enforce such regulations as may be needed. The extent to which a system of regulations formulated to meet the various safeguards asked for by one or other group still offers scope for commercially viable products is discussed. There may be conflict between the attitude of some manufacturers anxious for rapid commercial success linked with the measures which would satisfy their requirements and the long term development of vegetable protein products as an accepted sector of the food market. Indications are given of what might constitute a framework for legislation.