Improving the Aromatic Profile of Plant-Based Meat Alternatives: Effect of Myoglobin Addition on Volatiles.

Market demand for palatable plant-based meat alternatives is on the rise. One of the challenges is formulating products with sensorial characteristics similar to conventional meat. In this study, the effect of myoglobin on the aromatic profile of plant-based meat alternatives was assessed. Plant-based burgers were made with soy-textured protein, supplemented with three levels of myoglobin (0, 0.5 and 1.0%, the latter two mimicking endogenous myoglobin levels in meat), and grilled for 12 min at 250 °C. To evaluate the aromatic profile of the compounds, raw and grilled samples were subjected to headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Principal component analysis (PCA) analysis was then performed to visualize the interaction between grilling and myoglobin addition, and the effect exerted on the resulting aromatic profile. Myoglobin significantly affected several classes of volatile compounds, either by itself or in conjunction with grilling. A notable increase in aldehydes and a decrease in hydrocarbons were noted after adding myoglobin. As expected, an increase in pyrazines was observed after grilling. The results suggest myoglobin positively influences the aromatic profile of plant-based meat alternatives, contributing to a profile closer to the one of conventional meat.

Alternative proteins, evolving attitudes: Comparing consumer attitudes to plant-based and cultured meat in Belgium in two consecutive years.

Alternatives to conventional meat are considered an increasingly important tool in the drive to reduce consumption of animal products for environmental, public health and ethical reasons. We present two waves of a cross-sectional survey from a nationally representative sample in Belgium in 2019 (n = 1001) and 2020 (n = 1000). Participants answered questions online about their diets, attitudes towards existing plant-based meat alternatives, and attitudes towards cultured meat (grown from animal cells). We find that the proportion of Belgian consumers who said existing plant-based meat alternatives met their needs increased significantly from 44% in 2019 to 51% in 2020. We also find a significant increase in concern for issues related to animal agriculture, in particular the environment. We found no significant change in attitudes towards cultured meat between the two waves; in both 2019 and 2020, 39.3% of Belgian consumers said they would buy cultured meat. Regression analyses revealed that plant-based alternatives were more appealing to women and those with vegetarian diets, whilst cultured meat was more appealing to men. Overall, just 11.2% of consumers are both unsatisfied with existing meat alternatives and unwilling to buy cultured meat, while 43.2% of respondents were positive towards either plant-based or cultured meat, but not both, highlighting the need for a variety of alternative proteins in the market. Both cultured meat and plant-based meat were more appealing to younger consumers and those in the northern, predominantly Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. We discuss the implications of these findings for researchers and those seeking to strategically displace demand for animal products.

Sources of PCDD/Fs, non-ortho PCBs and PAHs in sediments of high and low impacted transboundary rivers (Belgium-France).

PAHs, PCDD/Fs and non-ortho PCBs have been assessed in Yser and Upper-Scheldt river sediments. Higher contamination levels were observed in the Upper-Scheldt sediments: maximum concentrations for the 16 US-EPA PAHs, PCDD/Fs and non-ortho PCBs respectively amount to 8.9 mg kg(-1), 12 ng TEQ kg(-1) and 5.1 ng TEQ kg(-1). Diagnostic PAH ratios in sediments and atmospheric samples suggest that the PAH compounds are from pyrolytic origin, more specifically combustion processes. The huge consumption of coal in cokes-ovens and smelters and its use for house-heating in Northern France, although decreasing during the last decades, are in support of that suggestion. PCDD/F fingerprints in sediments and deposition material indicate that OCDD is the dominant congener. In addition use of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the past led to a minor contribution of PCDD/Fs in our sediment samples. Non-ortho PCBs form a substantial fraction of the total TEQ concentrations observed in the sediments. Since the 1980s and 1990s a substantial reduction of the PCDD/F sediment concentrations is observed, but this is not the case for the PAHs.

Dioxin and dioxin-like activity in sediments of the Belgian coastal area (Southern North Sea).

Dioxin and dioxin-like activity in sediments of the North Sea, along the Belgian coast, was assessed with the bioassay CALUX (Chemically Activated LUciferase gene eXpression). Crude extracts of the samples as well as the dioxin fraction (PCDD/Fs) obtained after a thorough clean-up procedure were analyzed with the CALUX method. When analyzing the cleaned extract, a general low contamination level is observed (around 0.1 pg CALUX-TEQ/g sediment), except at the mouth of the two main rivers-the Yser and the Scheldt-where concentrations measured are about 100 times higher (10-42 pg CALUX-TEQ/g sediment). Much higher potencies are measured for the crude extracts compared to the cleaned ones. In the crude extracts, the highest dioxin-like activities were again observed at the mouth and outflow of the two rivers (600-7200 pg CALUX-TEQ/g sediment). These activities are at least two orders of magnitude higher than the ones found at the coastal and sea stations (1.3-45 pg CALUX-TEQ/g sediment). The difference in activity between cleaned and crude sediment extracts is due to the presence of dioxin-like compounds such as, for example, non-ortho and mono-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated dioxins, but also to PAHs. The percentage of five major PAHs in the crude samples at the river mouths, when using the average activities in those samples, varies between 25% and 50%.

Bioassay (CALUX) measurements of 2,3,7,8-TCDD and PCB 126: interference effects.

Interference effects in CALUX measurements were studied. 2,3,7,8-TCDD and PCB 126 solutions were added, according to an experimental design, to the genetically modified cells. CALUX responses were measured for pure solutions of each of these pollutants, for their mixtures and for successive additions where the first added pollutant is removed after 4h and replaced by medium solution, the same pollutant or the other one. It appeared that in cases where the cells were exposed to TCDD and PCB 126 in series, additivity was obeyed. This was not the case when the pollutants were added to the cells simultaneously as these results show antagonistic effects.