Well-developed meat substitutes
The Food Industry Research and Development Institute (FIRDI), located in Hsinchu, holds many of the key technologies underpinning Taiwan’s development of plant-based meats.
When we visit, Dr. Chang Yu-sheng, executive assistant to FIRDI’s director general, immediately brings up global environmental issues. He tells us that according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock farming generates 14.5% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The removal of rainforests to clear land for livestock and for the crops to feed them also causes severe environmental damage. Making matters even worse, the UN estimates that the world’s human population will exceed 10 billion people by 2050. How we will feed so many mouths?
Finding meat substitutes has become a top priority for nations all over the world. Chang says that food scientists have proposed mushrooms, insects, algae, fungi, and cultured meats as possibilities, but each has its own shortcomings. “Plant-based meats are the easiest option to produce, and are currently the most competitive.”
Taiwan has advantages in this field. Roughly 13% of our population is vegetarian, a figure second only to that of India. Moreover, our plant-based meat industry has been working to meet the large domestic demand for vegetarian foods for more than 30 years. Chang says that FIRDI develops products and manufacturing equipment, and then transfers them to the local food industry. This cooperation has enabled textured vegetable protein (TVP) produced in Taiwan to become an important part of the international supply chain for plant-based meat.
Hwang Sam-long, a senior research scientist in FIRDI’s Product and Process Reseach Center who has long worked in plant protein research and development, focuses on improving plant-based meat technology and mouthfeel. He says that first-generation products were made from soy proteins that were extruded and processed into dry TVP. The second generation used proteins from a variety of sources, including peas, mung beans, and broad beans, to better simulate the textures of different meats. The third generation hasn’t yet come to market, but will showcase amazing developments when it does. Hwang says: “Current plant-based meat technology generally involves assembling ground ‘meats’ into products. It isn’t well suited to emulating large cuts of meat. But support from a technology development program operated by the Department of Industrial Technology of the Ministry of Economic Affairs has enabled researchers to develop new texturing processes and manufacturing equipment to produce plant-based meats that better replicate the appearance, texture and mouthfeel of real meats. These are world-leading technologies.”
While the US-based company Beyond Meat is the current world leader in plant-based meats, Hwang believes: “Taiwan’s comprehensive industrial chain, desire to exploit the ‘blue ocean’ market for plant-based meats, and third-generation meat technology give us a very strong competitive advantage.”
Jan Jin-ho says that the objective of the Neo Foods brand is to provide non-vegetarians with appealing vegetarian options.
The look, taste, and mouthfeel of Neo’s plant-based shredded “chicken” are almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Prepared meals are a strong suit of Dachan Great Wall Group, which excels at producing everything from boiled dumplings and tuna–cucumber rolls to meat pies.