Fungi-based meat alternative grown from food waste

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found a novel way to produce a fungi-based food product that has both the taste and shreddable texture of meats like chicken. Furthermore, the scientists say their protein product is more nutritious than several other plant-based meat alternatives.

Nutrient-rich food waste is used as a base from which to cultivate the fungi. This growth medium imparts the fungi with protein, iron and amino acids, which typically need to be added separately to meat alternatives produced with peas, chickpeas, wheat gluten and soy.

Production of the protein is also sustainable as it provides an opportunity to reuse waste and by-products from food and beverage processing, including soybean skin (okara), wheat stalk and brewers’ spent grain. It is estimated that around 39 million tons of spent grains and 14 million tons of okara are thrown into landfills every year, where they would decompose and add to greenhouse gas emissions.

Professor William Chen, Director of NTU’s Food Science and Technology (FST) program and leader of the development of the product, said: “Our fungi-based food product is yet another triumph for NTU, as we look to find successful ways to find new uses for products that would otherwise be left to waste.

“Upcycling these products to cultivate fungi, a food source familiar to Asian consumers, is an opportunity for enhancing processing efficiency in the food supply chain, as well as potentially promoting a healthier non-animal-protein alternative to enrich diets.”

The NTU team is collaborating with The FoodBowl, which is part of the New Zealand Food Innovation Network, to work towards commercialisation of the product by 2024. New Zealand startup Off-Piste Provisions, a plant-based meat company, is meanwhile collaborating with NTU’s FST program to implement the fungi cultivation technology in its food products.

The fungi-based food product already resembles meat more than other plant-based proteins, shredding like how cooked chicken would, and also tastes more like meat, as it contains higher levels of the amino acids as well as glutamic and aspartic acids which give flesh that trademark ‘meaty’ flavour. This is in contrast to other plant-based proteins which often need flavouring to be added to taste good, are highly processed and can lack essential nutrients such as iron and amino acids.

Jade Gray, CEO of Off-Piste Provisions, said: “We are looking to team up with leading food scientists, such as NTU’s Prof William Chen, to help solve the problem that alternative protein startups like us face — mimicking the taste, texture and protein hit of animal products. We are confident that through collaborating with NTU’s Prof Chen, we can craft a range of fungi-based meat products right here in New Zealand that will entice the most hard-core of carnivores, tick all the health-conscious boxes and provide the protein required for your daily adventure.”

Chen added: “We are motivated by our close ties with the industry to translate our findings into solutions for pressure points for today’s food and beverage producers, such as improving the flavour, nutrition and sustainability profiles of their products.

“Nature, in the form of fungi, is a powerful tool to help corporations not only cut down on waste but potentially improve human diets, but they require research and innovation, which we are glad to provide, to bridge that gap.”

Images credit: NTU Singapore.

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