The development history and recent updates on soy protein-based meat alternatives

Owing to the rapid growth of the world's population and the consequent effects on the consumption of natural resources, we are facing increasing shortages in availability of proteins with high biological value. Additionally, considerations relating to animal welfare and human health have promoted the development of plant protein meat alternatives. The market for plant-based meat alternatives is expanding rapidly to cater to growing consumer demand. Soy protein has been successfully utilized in the preparation of meat alternatives, due to its excellent gelation properties and potential to form fibrous structures, and has become the most widely known alternative to animal protein. In this review, the development history of soy protein-based meat alternatives is summarized briefly. Next, the research work on raw material composition and main processing strategies of soy protein meat alternatives is highlighted, including protein and non-protein ingredients and extrusion processing techniques. Lastly, research prospects and development trends of soy protein meat alternatives are also outlined. High moisture extrusion is a relatively mature technology and is widely used for manufacturing soy protein meat alternatives with a similar fiber texture to meat. The main raw materials for preparing soy protein meat alternatives are soy protein and wheat gluten, although there are also studies on the use of vegetable proteins such as pea protein and peanut protein. Besides the main protein components, the addition of starch, fiber and other excipients also have an important impact on the development of fiber structure and nutrient richness of soy protein meat alternatives. In the process of extrusion, the interaction between these components causes a series of physical and chemical changes to occur, and anisotropic fiber structures to form. Further research needs to focus on optimizing technical parameters, improving nutrition and safety, and enriching product taste to meet consumer demands for product quality.