Healthy living & lifestyle Astaxanthin: Antioxidants sourced from the sea
Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring dark red carotenoid primarily found in aquatic animals, including salmon, trout, krill, shrimp, crayfish, crustaceans and microalgae. It stands out as one of the most potent lipophilic antioxidants, exhibiting a remarkable antioxidant strength that surpasses vitamin E by a factor of 500. In comparison with other carotenoids like lutein, lycopene and beta- carotene, astaxanthin proves to be even more robust. Extensive research has demonstrated the numerous benefits of natural astaxanthin. Its consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of certain chronic diseases, enhanced cardiovascular health, increased muscle strength, relief from joint pain, anti-inflammatory properties, immune system stimulation and the promotion of healthy skin.
To give a few examples, Vegan Zeastar’s smoked ‘Zalmon’ is made from tapioca starch, flax and rapeseed oil, while Nestle’s Vrimp (fake shrimp) is made from seaweed, peas and konjac root. Other brands, like Quorn, are working with fungus-derived mycoprotein combined with other functional ingredients, while Good Catch uses six different legumes flavoured with algal oil. Heather Mills says VBites have tried a variety of different products, the most popular being a cod- style fish fillet made from konjac and the most realistic being a microalgae-based sushi-style salmon. “At VBites, we have been making fish alternates since 1995, starting with simple fish fingers and fishcakes, and then getting into the more complicated microalgae salmon,” she says. “It’s a complicated process, but a very clean label product. I would say creating a cod-like flakiness was probably the most difficult part, followed by the flavour and texture.”
Heather Mills’ VBites serves up a British classic with an environmental and ethical twist.
with plant proteins, to create a product with the flakiness of real fish. “If you don’t have fibres, it might as well be tofu,” New School Foods’ founder, Chris Bryson, told Food Dive.
The ingredients $1.3bn
The expected reach of the plant- based seafood market by 2031.
Hack Trends 56
In terms of the ingredients, these can vary from one manufacturer to the next. Van der Goot remarks that the basic choice of proteins will generally be the same in faux fish as they are in fake meat. “You might use soy or pea or wheat, which are the most widely available and cost- effective. With a fish analogue there might be something else as well as to make it flakey, but the proteins are similar,” he says.
That ‘something else’ might include functional carbohydrates that influence the structure of the product, like pea starch or konjac powder. (Konjac is a mountainous vegetable that is making something of a name for itself in the fake fish market.) You might also include something like seaweed or algae to replicate that fishy flavour.
Future momentum With innovation continuing apace, the big question going forward might be cost competitiveness. Especially for ‘whole cuts’, these products are typically expensive – often more so than actual fish or meat. Van der Goot thinks there is scope to mature the market further and produce plant-based fish more efficiently. One easy win, from a price perspective, might be reducing the protein content. “If these products are made for consumers who eat meat most of the time, maybe they could benefit from a nutritional value that deviates from meat, and that could be a route to making it more cost effective and maybe healthier,” he says. True enough, research suggests that the growth of the plant-based meat sector (including plant-based fish) is driven by ‘flexitarians’ – people who want to reduce their meat consumption, rather than vegetarians or vegans. This segment is typically quite picky about taste and texture – which food scientists are forever fine-tuning – but they don’t need to worry about their protein intake. Whether or not consumers plan to cut out fish
entirely, there’s evidently a growing demand for alternatives. From a sluggish start, we are now seeing real momentum in the market, with an array of brands promising to do for fake fish what the likes of Impossible Foods have done for fake meat.
“Lots of companies are starting to understand certain techniques as if they’re new, but we have been doing it for decades,” says Mills. “It’s just that we had a limited market in the past because people had not opened their minds to veganism as they are now. Many people love the taste of fish, but not everybody wants the cruelty or environmental disaster that goes with it.” ●
Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
VBites
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