The big business of sustainable food production and consumption: Exploring the transition to alternative proteins.

A widespread sense of the unsustainability of the food system has taken hold in recent years, leading to calls for fundamental change. The role of animal agriculture is central to many of these debates, leading to interest in the possibility of a "protein transition," whereby the production and consumption of animal-derived foods is replaced with plant-based substitutes or "alternative proteins." Despite the potential sustainability implications of this transition, the developmental trajectories and transformative potential of the associated technologies remain underexplored. This article sheds light on these dynamics by addressing two questions: 1) how have alternative protein innovations developed over the past three decades, and 2) what explains their more recent acceleration? To answer these questions, the article makes an empirical analysis of four alternative protein innovations, and the partial destabilization of the animal agriculture system between 1990 and 2021, guided by the multi-level perspective. The analysis highlights an intensification in corporate engagement with alternative protein development and diffusion. This intensification is judged to be consistent with the beginnings of a wider corporate reorientation, occurring alongside a rise in pressures on the animal agriculture system, notably an increasing scientific consensus and societal awareness of the links between climate change and meat-intensive diets. The paper demonstrates how differences in technological maturity across the niche innovations have resulted in potentially transformative pressures, which are consistent with an emerging sustainability transition, manifesting differently in terms of the extent of diffusion of the alternative protein niches.

An Optimized Proteomics Approach Reveals Novel Alternative Proteins in Mouse Liver Development.

Alternative ORFs (AltORFs) are unannotated sequences in genome that encode novel peptides or proteins named alternative proteins (AltProts). Although ribosome profiling and bioinformatics predict a large number of AltProts, mass spectrometry as the only direct way of identification is hampered by the short lengths and relative low abundance of AltProts. There is an urgent need for improvement of mass spectrometry methodologies for AltProt identification. Here, we report an approach based on size-exclusion chromatography for simultaneous enrichment and fractionation of AltProts from complex proteome. This method greatly simplifies the variance of AltProts discovery by enriching small proteins smaller than 40 kDa. In a systematic comparison between 10 methods, the approach we reported enabled the discovery of more AltProts with overall higher intensities, with less cost of time and effort compared to other workflows. We applied this approach to identify 89 novel AltProts from mouse liver, 39 of which were differentially expressed between embryonic and adult mice. During embryonic development, the upregulated AltProts were mainly involved in biological pathways on RNA splicing and processing, whereas the AltProts involved in metabolisms were more active in adult livers. Our study not only provides an effective approach for identifying AltProts but also novel AltProts that are potentially important in developmental biology.

The Future of Plant-Based Diets: Aligning Healthy Marketplace Choices with Equitable, Resilient, and Sustainable Food Systems.

The future of plant-based diets is a complex public health issue inextricably linked to planetary health. Shifting the world's population to consume nutrient-rich, plant-based diets is among the most impactful strategies to transition to sustainable food systems to feed 10 billion people by 2050. This review summarizes how international expert bodies define sustainable diets and food systems and describes types of sustainable dietary patterns. It also explores how the type and proportion of plant- versus animal-source foods and alternative proteins relate to sustainable diets to reduce diet-related morbidity and mortality. Thereafter, we synthesize evidence for current challenges and actions needed to achieve plant-based sustainable dietary patterns using a conceptual framework with principles to promote human health, ecological health, social equity, and economic prosperity. We recommend strategies for governments, businesses, and civil society to encourage marketplace choices that lead to plant-rich sustainable diets within healthy, equitable, and resilient agroecological food systems.

Protein transition: focus on protein quality in sustainable alternative sources.

The current consumption trends, combined with the expected demographic growth in the coming years, call for a protein transition, i.e., the partial substitution of animal protein-rich foods with foods rich in proteins produced in a more sustainable way. Here, we have discussed some of the most common and promising protein sources alternative to animal proteins, namely: legumes, insects, and microorganisms (including microalgae and fungi). The primary objective was to assess their nutritional quality through the collection of digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) values available in the scientific literature. Protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) values have been used where DIAAS values were not available. The ecological impact of each protein source, its nutritional quality and the potential applications in traditional foods or novel food concepts like meat analogues are also discussed. The data collected show that DIAAS values for animal proteins are higher than all the other protein sources. Soybean proteins, mycoproteins and proteins of some insects present relatively high DIAAS (or PDCAAS) values and must be considered proteins of good quality. This review also highlights the lack of DIAAS values for many potentially promising protein sources and the variability induced by the way the proteins are processed.

Cultivating change in food consumption practices: The reception of the social representation of alternative proteins by consumers.

This article is concerned with the dynamics of change in protein consumption practices from the perspective of the consumer. It is based on a model, informed by social representation theory, that aims to understand the role played by various types of representation of alternative proteins in the process of changing food consumption practices. It discusses the reception, by consumers, of the representations associated with alternative proteins on Instagram. Methodologically, three focus groups were organized with different consumer segments (omnivorous, flexitarian and vegetarian and vegan consumers), as well as seven individual interviews. Participants were submitted to the social representations of alternative proteins, and visual stimuli from social media were mobilized for this purpose. Results show that the publications which boast the environmental, animal welfare or health attributes of alternative proteins generally contribute to the cultivation of new elements of practices. While this kind of publications is essential to help consumers question their established practices linked to meat and dairy consumption, they can also generate a critical reception that is not conducive to change, making them a double-edge sword. Publications that relate to the representations involved in daily food consumption proteins (e.g. that alternative proteins are versatile and crowd-pleasing) emerge as being safer in terms of reception, although as standalone they may not be able to achieve a deep level of change in food consumption practices. The results of this study show the importance of deploying a diverse communication strategy about alternative proteins that appeal to a variety of consumer segments.

Effects of Alkaline Extraction pH on Amino Acid Compositions, Protein Secondary Structures, Thermal Stability, and Functionalities of Brewer's Spent Grain Proteins.

A high alkaline pH was previously demonstrated to enhance the extraction yield of brewer's spent grains (BSG) proteins. The effects of extraction pH beyond the extraction yield, however, has not been investigated before. The present work examined the effects of extraction pH (pH 8-12) on BSG proteins' (1) amino acid compositions, (2) secondary structures, (3) thermal stability, and (4) functionalities (i.e., water/oil holding capacity, emulsifying, and foaming properties). The ideal extraction temperature (60 °C) and BSG-to-solvent ratio (1:20 w/v) for maximizing the extraction yield were first determined to set the conditions for the pH effect study. The results showed that a higher extraction pH led to more balanced compositions between hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acids and higher proportions of random coils structures indicating increased protein unfolding. This led to superior emulsifying properties of the extracted proteins with more than twofold improvement between pH 8 and a pH larger than 10. The extraction pH, nevertheless, had minimal impact on the water/oil holding capacity, foaming properties, and thermal denaturation propensity of the proteins. The present work demonstrated that a high alkaline pH at pH 11-12 was indeed ideal for both maximizing the extraction yield (37-46 wt.%) and proteins' functionalities.

Narrative Review of the Current and Future Perspectives of Phycobiliproteins' Applications in the Food Industry: From Natural Colors to Alternative Proteins.

Vivid-colored phycobiliproteins (PBPs) have emerging potential as food colors and alternative proteins in the food industry. However, enhancing their application potential requires increasing stability, cost-effective purification processes, and consumer acceptance. This narrative review aimed to highlight information regarding the critical aspects of PBP research that is needed to improve their food industry potential, such as stability, food fortification, development of new PBP-based food products, and cost-effective production. The main results of the literature review show that polysaccharide and protein-based encapsulations significantly improve PBPs' stability. Additionally, while many studies have investigated the ability of PBPs to enhance the techno-functional properties, like viscosity, emulsifying and stabilizing activity, texture, rheology, etc., of widely used food products, highly concentrated PBP food products are still rare. Therefore, much effort should be invested in improving the stability, yield, and sensory characteristics of the PBP-fortified food due to the resulting unpleasant sensory characteristics. Considering that most studies focus on the C-phycocyanin from Spirulina, future studies should concentrate on less explored PBPs from red macroalgae due to their much higher production potential, a critical factor for positioning PBPs as alternative proteins.

Insects as a Prospective Source of Biologically Active Molecules and Pharmaceuticals-Biochemical Properties and Cell Toxicity of Tenebrio molitor and Zophobas morio Cell-Free Larval Hemolymph.

Insects are of great interest as novel sources of alternative proteins and biologically active compounds, primarily anticancer agents. Protein-rich insect larval hemolymph is a prospective candidate for pharmaceutical and food industry-related research. In this study, selected biochemical properties and cell toxicity of larval hemolymph from two mealworm species, Tenebrio molitor and Zophobas morio, were analyzed. Total proteins and carbohydrates, antioxidant capacity, and the level of lipid peroxidation were determined. Human cancer (U-87) and normometabolic (MRC-5) cells were treated with different concentrations of larval hemolymph proteins, and the effects on cell viability were assayed 24, 48, and 72 h after treatments. Z. morio hemolymph was shown to be richer in total proteins, showing a higher antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation level than T. molitor hemolymph, which was richer in total carbohydrates. Cytotoxicity assays showed that T. molitor and Z. morio hemolymphs differently affect the viability of U-87 and MRC-5 cells in cell type-, dose-, and time-dependent manners. Hemolymph from both species was more cytotoxic to U-87 cells than to MRC-5 cells, which was particularly prominent after 48 h. Additionally, a more potent cytotoxic effect of Z. morio hemolymph was observed on both cell lines, likely due to its higher antioxidant capacity, compared to T. molitor hemolymph.

OpenCustomDB: Integration of Unannotated Open Reading Frames and Genetic Variants to Generate More Comprehensive Customized Protein Databases.

Proteomic diversity in biological samples can be characterized by mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics using customized protein databases generated from sets of transcripts previously detected by RNA-seq. This diversity has only been increased by the recent discovery that many translated alternative open reading frames rest unannotated at unsuspected locations of mRNAs and ncRNAs. These novel protein products, termed alternative proteins, have been left out of all previous custom database generation tools. Consequently, genetic variations that impact alternative open reading frames and variant peptides from their translated proteins are not detectable with current computational workflows. To fill this gap, we present OpenCustomDB, a bioinformatics tool that uses sample-specific RNaseq data to identify genomic variants in canonical and alternative open reading frames, allowing for more than one coding region per transcript. In a test reanalysis of a cohort of 16 patients with acute myeloid leukemia, 5666 peptides from alternative proteins were detected, including 201 variant peptides. We also observed that a significant fraction of peptide-spectrum matches previously assigned to peptides from canonical proteins got better scores when reassigned to peptides from alternative proteins. Custom protein libraries that include sample-specific sequence variations of all possible open reading frames are promising contributions to the development of proteomics and precision medicine. The raw and processed proteomics data presented in this study can be found in PRIDE repository with accession number PXD029240.

Innovation in precision fermentation for food ingredients.

A transformation in our food production system is being enabled by the convergence of advances in genome-based technologies and traditional fermentation. Science at the intersection of synthetic biology, fermentation, downstream processing for product recovery, and food science is needed to support technology development for the production of fermentation-derived food ingredients. The business and markets for fermentation-derived ingredients, including policy and regulations are discussed. A patent landscape of fermentation for the production of alternative proteins, lipids and carbohydrates for the food industry is provided. The science relating to strain engineering, fermentation, downstream processing, and food ingredient functionality that underpins developments in precision fermentation for the production of proteins, fats and oligosaccharides is examined. The production of sustainably-produced precision fermentation-derived ingredients and their introduction into the market require a transdisciplinary approach with multistakeholder engagement. Successful innovation in fermentation-derived ingredients will help feed the world more sustainably.

Green leaf proteins: a sustainable source of edible plant-based proteins.

The rise in the global population, which is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, has resulted in an increased demand for proteins in the human diet. The green leaves of many plants are an affordable, abundant, and sustainable source of proteins suitable for human consumption. This article reviews the various sources of green leaf proteins that may play an important role in alleviating global malnutrition, including those from alfalfa, amaranth, cabbage, cassava, duckweed, moringa, olive, radish, spinach, sugar beet, and tea. The structure of green leaves and the location of the proteins within these leaves are described, as well as methods for extracting and purifying these proteins. The composition, nutritional profile, and functional attributes of green leaf proteins are then discussed. The potential advantages and disadvantages of using green leaf proteins as functional food ingredients are highlighted. The importance of obtaining a better understanding of the composition and structure of different green leaves and the proteins extracted from them is highlighted. This includes an assessment of non-protein nitrogen and anti-nutritional compounds that may be present. Furthermore, the impact of isolation and purification techniques on the functionality of the plant protein ingredients obtained must be carefully evaluated.

Cereal bran proteins: recent advances in extraction, properties, and applications.

The projected global population is expected to reach around 9.7 billion by 2050, indicating a greater demand for proteins in the human diet. Cereal bran proteins (CBPs) have been identified as high-quality proteins, with potential applications in both the food and pharmaceutical industries. In 2020, global cereal grain production was 2.1 billion metric tonnes, including wheat, rice, corn, millet, barley, and oats. Cereal bran, obtained through milling, made up 10-20% of total cereal grain production, varying by grain type and milling degree. In this article, the molecular composition and nutritional value of CBPs are summarized, and recent advances in their extraction and purification are discussed. The functional properties of CBPs are then reviewed, including their solubility, binding, emulsifying, foaming, gelling, and thermal properties. Finally, current challenges to the application of CBPs in foods are highlighted, such as the presence of antinutritional factors, low digestibility, and allergenicity, as well as potential strategies to improve the nutritional and functional properties by overcoming these challenges. CBPs exhibit nutritional and functional attributes that are similar to those of other widely used plant-based protein sources. Thus, CBPs have considerable potential for use as ingredients in food, pharmaceutical, and other products.

Cultured meat - a patentometric analysis.

Cultured meat (CM) has emerged as a breakthrough technology, which has the potential to minimise future negative impacts associated with the rapidly growing world population; such as serious environmental, sustainability, global public health, and animal welfare concerns. Recently numerous researchers in academia and companies have been putting significant efforts into scientific and translational development in this field. Since various pillars of CM manufacturing hold substantial translational potential, there has been a steady interest in filing patent applications globally in the past decade. For the first time, we have performed a patentometric analysis for cultured meat by highlighting the current patents landscape, determining prolific organisations and geographical locations active in the area, and identifying the overall outlook for the field. In total, > 190 patents published in the English language were collected from 1997 to 2020 for the analysis. Relevant data were extracted from the patents, including technology focus, country of origin, assignees, priority date, cooperative patent classification (CPC) code, to analyse the current patent landscape.

Insects as food - Changes in consumers' acceptance of entomophagy in Hungary between 2016 and 2021.

Public interest in entomophagy (consumption of insects) has developed significantly over the past several years. Possible nutritional benefits are perceived by consumers according to several recent studies, as well as sustainability and food security. However, most European communities, including the Hungarian, do not embrace entomophagy, despite the widespread practice elsewhere globally. This study aims to evaluate the changes in the perception of entomophagy among the Hungarian population between 2016 and 2021, together with the factors differentiating between acceptive and dismissive consumers. The results of the two representative quantitative surveys indicate that more than 70% of Hungarian consumers are not willing to try entomophagy, which had not changed significantly in the observed period, despite the high media coverage of this topic in recent years. Some groups open to insect consumption can still be identified. According to the socioeconomic segmentation of the data collected in 2021, consumers who accept insect-based foods can be found in high numbers among men between 18 and 39 years old (49.3%). Positive attitudes are less likely to be observed among females; however, 27.6% of highly educated women between 18 and 59 years demonstrated a certain level of interest. Those consumers willing to consume insects are driven mainly by curiosity, and also value high protein content and sustainability, and perceive insect-based food as nutritious. Consumers who prefer local and national food tend to refuse to eat insects in a higher ratio.

Nutritional Qualities and Enhancement of Edible Insects.

Over the last decade, the urgency to find alternative and sustainable protein sources has prompted an exponential increase in the interest in insects as a human food source. Edible insects contribute suitable amounts of energy and protein, fatty acids, and micronutrients to the human diet. Nutritional values of insects can be manipulated to meet specific needs. Edible insects in food-insecure countries can contribute to improving diets and preventing undernutrition. Bioactive compounds in insects may reduce health risks. Food safety risks are low and mainly relate to those of allergenicity. Strategies to overcome barriers to the consumption of insect products include emphasizing their sustainability, increasing their tastiness, and developing the ability to disguise insects in familiar products. A new sector of insects as food and feed is emerging. Major challenges include legislation, lowering prices by automation and cheap substrates, developing insect products that appeal to consumers, and exploring the health benefits.

Scaffolds for the manufacture of cultured meat.

The cultured meat market has been growing at an accelerated space since the first creation of cultured meat burger back in 2013. Substantial efforts have been made to reduce costs by eliminating serum in growth media and improving process efficiency by employing bioreactors. In parallel, efforts are also being made on scaffolding innovations to offer better cells proliferation, differentiation and tissue development. So far, scaffolds used in cultured meat research are predominantly collagen and gelatin, which are animal-derived. To align with cell-based meat vision i.e. environment conservation and animal welfare, plant-derived biomaterials for scaffolding are being intensively explored. This paper reviews and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of scaffold materials and potential scaffolding related to scale-up solution for the production of cultured meat.

3D Printing of cultured meat products.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a fast-developing digital technology with colossal market scope in food and nutrition technology, providing a platform for establishing unique food products with enhanced sensory and nutritional value for a particular end-user. Cultured meat is the concept of producing meat sustainably in laboratory conditions without the sacrifice of animal life and the excessive use of antibiotics. 3D printing could offer unique solutions for the vital issues of cultured meat production; particularly on regulating the protein, fat, and other nutritional content, along with providing realistic texture. This review highlights the immense benefits of 3D printing technology for the scalable and reproducible production of cultured meat products.

The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry-part II: Emerging food trends.

The food industry has recently been under unprecedented pressure due to major global challenges, such as climate change, exponential increase in world population and urbanization, and the worldwide spread of new diseases and pandemics, such as the COVID-19. The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) has been gaining momentum since 2015 and has revolutionized the way in which food is produced, transported, stored, perceived, and consumed worldwide, leading to the emergence of new food trends. After reviewing Industry 4.0 technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, smart sensors, robotics, blockchain, and the Internet of Things) in Part I of this work (Hassoun, Aït-Kaddour, et al. 2022. The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry-Part I: Industry 4.0 technologies. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1-17.), this complimentary review will focus on emerging food trends (such as fortified and functional foods, additive manufacturing technologies, cultured meat, precision fermentation, and personalized food) and their connection with Industry 4.0 innovations. Implementation of new food trends has been associated with recent advances in Industry 4.0 technologies, enabling a range of new possibilities. The results show several positive food trends that reflect increased awareness of food chain actors of the food-related health and environmental impacts of food systems. Emergence of other food trends and higher consumer interest and engagement in the transition toward sustainable food development and innovative green strategies are expected in the future.

Factors affecting consumer attitudes to fungi-based protein: A pilot study.

Meat substitutes using alternative proteins can facilitate sustainable diets without compromising animal welfare. The fungal protein, also called mycoprotein is the biomass that results from the fermentation of a filamentous fungus. This paper reports the results of a consumer acceptance study of fungal protein-based meat substitutes using a mixed-method design with a web-based survey and a series of semi-structured interviews amongst European participants. Based on the description provided in the survey, 56% of participants were not directly familiar with fungal proteins but they understood its potential societal benefits. The overall Food Technology Neophobia Score (FTNS) of the sample was moderate (M = 40.0, range = 19-62), with more neophilic participants (52.9%) than neophobic (47.1%). FTN was a significant but weak predictor of Perceived Benefits (PB) and Purchase Intentions (PI). Younger participants perceived fungal proteins more positively, and city-dwellers had higher PI than rural dwellers. Reducetarians were more likely to purchase fungal proteins, compared to unrestricted omnivores. Participants with lower acceptance of fungal proteins' association with mould had significantly lower PI than those who were comfortable with it. In turn, familiarity with fungal protein was positively associated with mould acceptance. The qualitative data suggested that the sensory attributes were the most important factor in the acceptance of meat substitutes. The participants also valued clean label products which were perceived as healthier. Familiarity with other products containing mould seemed to assuage concerns and drive acceptance of fungal protein. The findings suggest that the overall acceptance of fungal protein is still rather low. This may be attributed to the perceived low appeal and tastiness of available fungal protein products.

A cross-country investigation of social image motivation and acceptance of lab-grown meat in Singapore and the United States.

This research has three goals. First, it sets out to compare consumer acceptance of lab-grown meat in the U.S. and in Singapore. Second, it seeks to explain the difference in Americans' and Singaporeans' acceptance of lab-grown meat by examining their eating motivations. Specifically, we focused on social image motivations - the motivations to present oneself positively in social contexts. Third, this study also aims to assess if exposure to information about lab-grown meat communicated by celebrity versus expert social media influencers (SMIs) can impact people's acceptance of lab-grown meat products. Our analysis showed that Singaporean participants had greater acceptance of lab-grown meat compared to their American counterparts, and this cultural difference was explained by Singaporeans' stronger social image eating motivations. In other words, cross-country differences in motivation to eat for a favorable social image can explain differences in consumer acceptance of lab-grown meat. The Singaporean cultural trait of kiasuism, which is exemplified by the fear of losing out or being left behind, may explain Singaporeans' motivation to project an image of being 'trailblazers' (vis-a-vis other nationalities) by expressing a higher acceptance of novel foods such as lab-grown meat. Results also revealed that the information about lab-grown meat being communicated by a celebrity or an expert SMI did not make a difference in participants' acceptance of lab-grown meat in both countries. Together, this research suggests an interesting implication that novel food industries and marketers can promote product branding by boosting media coverage (including online social media) of their lab-grown products' 'firsts' (e.g., the first production line in the world, the first technological breakthrough), especially in markets with high social image concerns.