Influence of processing on protein quality and environmental impact assessment of soy-based meat analogues

Abstract

While meat is an established source of high-quality protein, limited data exists on plant-based meat analogues, particularly regarding how specific production steps and extrusion conditions affect their protein quality and ecological footprint. We used the Protéix soybean cultivar to produce dry soy protein intermediate products with varying degrees of refinement and employed them to obtain meat analogues by high-moisture extrusion. As a reference, a commercial soy protein concentrate was used to produce meat analogues by high- and low-moisture extrusion. In vitro amino acid (AA) digestibility and in vitro DIAAS of intermediate products and extrudates were assessed and compared to traditional soy-based foods and chicken breast. The meat analogues had high total protein in vitro digestibili