The protein quality measures of plant-based meat alternatives manufacturer, v2food’s plant-based meat are comparable to traditional beef mince, two studies by CSIRO found. V2food collaborated with the national science agency to gain better insights into the nutritional benefits of its plant-based mince.
The studies evaluated and compared several nutritional features of traditional beef mince to v2food’s plant-based mince, analysing the mince’s compositional and nutritional attributes, including assessing the effects of reformulation to enhance nutritional benefits.
As well as protein quality, the research revealed v2food’s mince had some favourable nutritional properties in comparison to beef mince, including higher fibre content.
Findings
- protein digestibility and overall protein quality of v2food plant-based mince is equivalent to traditional beef mince;
- v2food plant-based mince exhibited high levels of dietary fibre, and positively impacted gut microbiota composition and metabolic activity, changes that would be expected to improve gut health;
- v2food plant-based mince induces satiety more quickly than traditional beef mince; and
- in vitro iron absorption studies indicate that use of ferrous sulphate as an iron source in v2food plant-based mince improved intestinal iron absorption by approximately 50 per cent in comparison to other forms of elemental iron.
V2food chief science officer, Dr Lisa-Claire Ronquest-Ross, said health is the top reason Australian consumers choose plant-based meat.
“This research highlights how v2food mince can support a healthy lifestyle. Notably, our recent research confirms that the protein quality of v2food mince is equivalent to that of traditional beef mince.
“The research also reveals that v2food mince induces feelings of fullness more quickly than traditional beef mince, with participants consuming significantly less pasta Bolognese made with v2food mince compared to beef mince after having a standard breakfast,” Ronquest-Ross said.
CSIRO Future Protein lead, Dr Crispin Howitt, said, “These plant-based protein products are complementary to our existing protein sources such as red meat and fish.
“It’s important that these products are developed so that they are as healthy as possible and with nutritional claims backed by evidence.
“We need new protein options to sustain the world’s growing population into the future.”
v2food was founded in 2019 from CSIRO science, with early investment from Main Sequence Ventures and Jack Cowin’s Competitive Foods Australia.
