Mycoprotein—A Meat Alternative New to the U.S.

GRAHAM RODGER

July 1, 2001

Although thousands of new food products are launched every year into the retail food market, very few of the ingredients used in their manufacture are really new in the sense that they have never been used before. The subject of this article is one of those few: a new ingredient, mycoprotein, about to be introduced into the market in the United States, which has both physical and clinical functional properties. A protein source derived from fungi provides functional, nutritional, and clinical benefits.

Mycoprotein is the generic name given to the ribonucleic acid–reduced biomass comprisi…

Fig.1—Flowchart for production of mycoprotein

Fig. 2—Production of mycoprotein

Fig. 3—Production of food from mycoprotein

Fig.4—Electron micrograph illustrating the filamentous nature of mycoprotein

Table 1—Typical compositional analysis of mycoprotein as harvested

Fig. 5—A variety of products based on mycoprotein with the appearance, texture, and taste of various meat and poultry products will soon be available in the U.S.