Diets with little or no meat are considered healthy and sustainable by the general public and consequently, consumers are increasing the use of plant-based meat analogues in their diets. In the development of plant-based meat analogues the main focus has been on creating a tasty product highly similar to meat and on the replacement of meat protein by protein from plant origin so far. To achieve a protein content similar to meat, fractionation of plant materials is necessary. However, this strongly compromises sustainability and might reduce potential health assets of the product, as fractionation requires water, energy, and chemicals, and it also leads to protein loss and inclusion of salt. In addition, many beneficial plant components like fibres, phenolic compounds, and other bioactive phytochemicals are removed. Consumers may report choosing plant-based meat analogues for health reasons, but few plant-based meat analogues have been developed with health benefits as first design criterion. Nevertheless, meat analogues are a growing novel food category, of which the knowledge regarding their impact on human health is very limited. The goal of this project is therefore to investigate the health effects of current meat analogues as part of a healthy diet and to develop strategies for health supporting product characteristics that still consider sustainability. This project includes a landmark study; a large dietary controlled intervention study in which the effect of repetitive daily consumption of plant-based meat analogues on the function of the intestinal microbiome and cardiometabolic health will be compared with the effects of consuming a meat-based diet. This project will also include an in-depth in vitro investigation of the effect of current and alternative processing steps on health assets of meat analogues. We will make use of food-grade model products (processed in house), formulated with existing and new ingredients and we will focus on a large set of quality aspects such as protein quality (e.g. digestibility, amino acid profile), the modulation of the function of the intestinal microbiome and a range of possible process-induced contaminants (e.g. N-nitrosamines, heterocyclic amines). The final aim is to develop design rules for ingredients to be used in meat analogues that are optimized in terms of health, while not compromising on sustainability.

The project fits squarely in Mission D: “Appreciated, healthy and safe food”, and the main priority in this project is 30: “Chain approach for healthy and sustainable eating behaviour by consumers, patients and guests”. This is part of the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport mission that all Dutch citizens will live at least five years longer in good health, and that the health inequalities between low and high social-economic groups are diminished. To achieve this, a more plant-based diet is recommended by The Netherlands Health Council. A great advantage of plant-based meat analogues is convenience as people only need a single swap (e.g. meat burger vs plant-based burger), rather than a completely different dietary pattern. Plant-based meat analogues are currently rarely developed with health impact in mind as first criterion, which is in our opinion a missed opportunity. The proposed project addresses the challenging question of ‘how we are going to feed the world, healthy and sustainably,’ the diet–environment–health trilemma. We will increase the limited knowledge on health benefits of plant-based meat analogues.

In this project we will reduce the knowledge gap on the unknown health consequences of plant-based meat analogues consumption, if they replace meat. This information will help consumers to make better and healthier choices. Our unique interdisciplinary collaboration, of nutritionists, food technologists, microbiologists and industry partners will allow us allows us to create relevant health driven design rules e.g. for industry to develop next-generation plant-based meat analogues with a stronger focus on health. We expect increased consumer acceptance, of those products by systematically studying health consequences of consumption of meat analogues, providing the necessary scientifically-base for the development of new guidelines for next-generation plant-based ingredients and meat analogue products.

This project start with a kick-off meeting with all the partners in which the different milestones and reporting points will be further discussed in detail and finalized. Every 6 months there will be a joint meeting (with all partners) to update each other, share results, create consensus on directions and progress and make decisions for the next period.

Intended deliverables:
- Determining the impact of a diet intervention where meat analogues are replaced with meat on cardiometabolic and intestinal health (2025).
o Large dietary controlled intervention study
- Execution of different ingredients and production technologies to create food-grade model products to evaluate against the current plant-based meat analogues on health parameters (2025).
o Food processing and in vitro work
- Health and sustainable driven design rules for next-generation plant-based meat analogues (2026).
o Based on the outcome of the intervention study and in vitro work