NEW TECHNOLOGIES. ARTIFICIAL MEAT AS A NEW SOURCE OF PROTEIN PRODUCTS IN THE NUTRITION OF MODERN PEOPLE

Abstract

The need for protein raw materials is steadily growing, in accordance with the increase in the population. From time immemorial, meat has been the main component of the human diet, a source of protein and the main energy component necessary for the full functioning of body processes. Artificial meat is a rapidly growing food category that has the potential to change our eating habits. Animal products are replaced by plant-based alternatives that taste and look similar to meat. The goal of such changes is to reduce global dependence on animal agriculture. Currently, there are three categories of artificial meat that differ in technology: cultured meat, modified meat, and plant-based alternative meat substitutes. Meat culture is a complex technology for reproducing the structure of livestock muscles from stem cells, which, in a suitable environment enriched with nutrients, hormones and growth factors, are capable of transformation into muscle and fat cells. Artificial meat production has already faced many hurdles, but it still has a long way to go before it becomes a commercial reality, with societal acceptance, expanded production methods, and lower costs. That is why alternative meat products made from vegetable components are more common on the artificial meat market. As substitutes for animal raw materials, manufacturers use soy, soy isolate, seitan, chickpeas, lentils, peas, algae, insects and other high-protein ingredients. In the near future, the traditional production of meat with the participation of animals is unlikely to be stopped, but the demand between consumers and the range of protein vegetable substitutes is developing rapidly. The food industry faces the task of adapting innovative technologies of artificial meat to the needs of the population, which can provide a significant impetus to the improvement of the ecological situation and the elimination of human nutritional deficits.