Abstract:In this research, a reduction study was carried out on the excipients and food additives was investigated on the basis of the existing plant-based chicken steak formula of the manufacturer to achieve clean label. The effects of different mass fractions of L-cysteine, flaxseed gum, konjac gum, egg white powder, inulin, and TGase on the texture and sensory quality of the product were investigated by texture analyzer and sensory evaluation. The formula based on clean label was formed as follows (mass fractions): soybean pullulan protein, 12.26%; peanut pullulan protein, 7.36%; water, 53.96%; soybean oil, 14.72%; soybean isolate protein powder, 3.68%; gluten powder, 3.07%; L-cysteine, 0.1%; TGase (liquid), 0.49%; compound seasoning, 4.37%; salt, 0.74%; white sugar, 1.47%. Then, the protein nutritional value of plant-based chicken steak formulated as above was compared with that of chicken steak. The protein digestibility of the plant-based chicken steak was 37.56%, which was close to that of the chicken steak (protein digestibility: 41.85%); its ratio of essential amino acid content to total amino acid content (EAA/TAA) was 0.41, and the ratio of essential amino acids to non-essential amino acids (EAA/NEAA) was 0.71, both of which met the standards set by FAO/WHO; its amino acid score (AAS) was 1.71 and the chemical score (CS) was 1.26. The results indicated that the plant-based chicken steak was a high-quality source of protein. Based on the analysis of the above indicators, four excipients and additives (flaxseed gum, konjac gum, egg white powder, and inulin) were removed from the original formula under the premise of quality assurance, which provides a reliable basis for label cleaning and protein nutritional evaluation of plant-based meat products.
