Making food healthier, life less carbon and agriculture more efficient -- Fuyao food promotes the development of China's plant-based food industry chain

Making food healthier, life less carbon and agriculture more efficient -- Fuyao food promotes the development of China's plant-based food industry chain

Abstract: this case describes the cutting-edge trend of the food industry - plant-based food. Plant protein is a substitute for animal protein, which can store protein efficiently and supply nutrients to human body. But for a long time, plant-based protein is difficult to be widely used because of its low absorption and utilization efficiency and poor taste. As the first enterprise in China to independently develop and produce plant-based food, Harbin Fuyao Food Co., Ltd. has successfully achieved a leap in the quality and taste of plant-based protein after more than ten years of technological accumulation, and formed a series of plant-based protein products with international advanced standards. 


These products provide Chinese consumers with a variety of healthy food choices. In addition, through the full research and development of soybean protein and the full utilization of soybean meal feed, Fuyao food has greatly increased the added value of soybean products, tried its best to drive the development of soybean planting industry and soybean processing industry, extended the soybean industrial chain, and made soybean give full play to its maximum economic and social benefits. In addition, because the carbon emission of plant-based food in the production and processing link is far less than that of animal meat, egg and milk production, it is of far-reaching significance for promoting the realization of the national goal of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutralization" and the development of ESG in the food industry. Especially in the production process of plant-based food, the consumption of agricultural resources is far lower than that of traditional animal husbandry. Therefore, plant-based food will play a great role in improving the utilization of China's agricultural resources, reducing China's dependence on the import of grain, especially meat, and solving the fundamental problem of China's food security.


Key words: Fuyao; Food; Plant based food; Plant protein; Carbon neutralization; ESG; food safety


Case text:

If one day, people can taste the sweet and soft "braised meat" without any scruples, regardless of the garbage effect caused by fat, cholesterol and other ingredients; People can enjoy "fried chicken" without worrying about the health risks caused by hormones in the feeding process; How fantastic and beautiful it will be when people only need to focus on delicious food without worrying about the damage to life and the burden on the environment! These things that sound full of a sense of the future are accelerating into reality.

With the continuous awakening of consumers' health concept, healthy, nutritious and sustainable plant-based food is developing rapidly. Plant based food refers to the creation of new food and beverage products based on plants. In recent years, with the iterative development of science and technology, plants, as food, have the possibility to show in more forms, so they are upgraded to "plant-based food".


Plant based food: a new round of global dietary revolution

Plant based foods bring consumers high-quality and healthy protein nutrition and controllable micronutrients, which can provide consumers with more choices in their diet, "unbind" the high demand for meat protein and some fat, and solve the problems of some vegetarians.

Plant-based food is not a "vegetarian food" in the traditional sense, but a new food that can make plant protein efficiently ingested by human beings. Plant protein is a kind of protein needed by human body. Similar to animal protein, it has a variety of physiological and health care functions. It is also an indispensable protein for livestock, poultry and fish. Compared with animal protein, plant protein has almost the same nutritional value, and will not carry animal fat, cholesterol, antibiotics, hormones and trans fatty acids.


In the United States, Europe and other regions, plant-based food has become a popular trend in diet. In 2020, the year-on-year growth rate of the global food and beverage industry is 2.9%, while that of the plant meat industry is 15%. It is expected that the annual compound growth rate will gradually rise to about 35%. With a compound growth rate of 15%, it is estimated that the global vegetable meat market will reach US $27.9 billion in 2025, equivalent to more than 180 billion yuan.


Beyond meat was founded in 2009 and derived from the Food Science Laboratory of the University of Missouri in the United States. It produces and sells plant meat. Its sales are expected to reach 3 billion yuan in 2021. Beyond meat sells semi-finished plant meat food, covering beef, pork and other flavors. Its sales channels are mainly retailers and catering institutions. Only beyond Burger (another meat hamburger beef pie) has an annual sales of more than 1 billion yuan. Oatly is a plant-based beverage brand from Sweden. Its oatly oatmeal beverage, Oatmilk and oatmeal coffee partner have been popular on major e-commerce platforms and offline retail channels all year round.



"Oriental rare meat" of fortune food participated in Beijing Hamburg festival in 2021


In China, plant-based food is becoming a new consumption trend. KFC, DEX, Starbucks, hi tea, Ruixing coffee and other catering chain brands have successively launched plant protein meat and plant-based drinks to provide consumers with more choices of healthy diet. Among them, oatly has accumulated hundreds of thousands of e-commerce platform consumers' comments. Many consumers do not hesitate to praise oatly - "it's perfect for coffee and I don't drink milk. It tastes especially good." "It's very strong and mellow to drink alone. There's a lot of room for matching. It's been repurchased." "If you have a bottle of breakfast, you won't have a swollen stomach. It's a blessing for people who can't drink milk!! Oatmeal Milk is still healthy!!" Plant based foods, represented by plant protein meat and plant-based beverages, have been rapidly integrated into the dietary environment of Chinese consumers, and are expected to bring a food revolution.


Evaluation of plant-based food: entering the "national brand" food

Although the application technology of plant protein originated abroad, there are advanced technical reserves in China. In Heilongjiang, China's largest grain Province, there is a scientific and technological team for intensive processing of the whole food industry chain of "R & D - process - production - market", Harbin Fuyao Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fuyao food"), which has successfully developed a series of plant-based protein foods with full scientific and technological content. It is reported that Fuyao food has built China's first high moisture plant protein meat production line with independent intellectual property rights, which indicates that China has reached an international high in the field of plant-based food research and application.


The plant protein meat produced by the company is very similar to meat products in taste, taste and muscle strength. Moreover, it can contain a higher proportion of protein and richer dietary fiber than animal meat. At the same time, it also has the health attributes of zero fat, zero cholesterol and zero trans fatty acid.


The whole fat stable rice bran produced by the company comes from the cortex of brown rice. Its nutritional composition is 4 times that of rice and its antioxidant capacity is 200 times that of tomato. As a new baking raw material, whole fat stabilized rice bran can be widely used in the baking field. It can be used as staple food such as noodles, steamed stuffed buns and fried dough sticks. It can also be mixed with flour to make ready mixed powder for bread and cake; It can also be made into prepared meal substitute powder, which brings people new food fashion.


Wang Zhe, general manager of Fuyao food, said: "Plant based food provides delicacy and nutrition in a healthy way. It needs the continuous progress of food science and engineering at the molecular level to stimulate the potential of plant-based food. We are honored to be the witness and participant of this' Food Revolution '. China's food culture is very rich and there are hundreds and thousands of flavors. In order to make plant protein meat more suitable for the preferences of Chinese consumers, Fuyao food has developed Chinese plant protein meat Products. "


After years of experimental data accumulation, the R & D team of Fuyao food found that the twin-screw extrusion technology rewoven the structure of plant protein, which can not only remove the bitterness of plant protein itself, but also effectively improve the absorption and utilization rate of plant protein. Under the conditions of appropriate rotating speed, temperature and water addition, the net utilization rate of plant protein can reach more than 80%. The team leader and the project team have won the national scientific progress award twice, the expert appraisal of "international advanced" twice, obtained and applied for a total of 12 invention patents, and published hundreds of papers in core journals.


The factory has prepared a table full of dishes made of vegetable protein meat, including spicy crispy meat, lion head in clear soup, spicy chicken stick, rougamo, Guandong boiled and fried dumplings - these dishes are pure plant-based foods without any animal ingredients. The vegetable protein meat cooked with vegetable protein has its own characteristics, "small crispy meat" has Sichuan flavor and hemp fragrance, "beef cake" is tender and juicy, "fried chicken fillet" is golden and crisp, "lion head" is soft, waxy and greasy.



Blessing food vegetable protein meat delicious feast


Two months ago, a number of academicians and expert teams of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in the field of food came to Fuyao plant-based food factory to conduct on-site evaluation and appraisal on "high moisture plant protein meat extrusion equipment and integrated technology application", and gave the appraisal results of "this production technology is internationally advanced". According to the sensory test report issued by COFCO nutrition and Health Research Institute, the plant protein meat products produced by Fuyao food are significantly better than the plant meat with low moisture in the evaluation of hardness, elasticity, chewability and other indicators, as well as the sensory characteristics such as meat flavor and acceptability.


Plant based food: extending the soybean industry chain and enhancing the added value of soybean

One of the important raw materials of plant-based food is soybean protein. The prosperity of plant meat industry directly drives the development of soybean industry, prolongs soybean industry chain and improves the added value of soybean products.

Soybean protein is a complete protein extracted from soybean, which contains essential amino acids required by human body. Measured by the "protein digestion correction score" (PDCAAS), soy protein isolate and milk protein get a full score of 1.0.


According to research and market statistics, soybeans accounted for the largest share in the vegetable meat market in 2019. Soybean protein also has more advantages in simulating the chewing sensation of meat quality. Soybean drawing protein made by extrusion method has high fiber structure and higher simulation degree. According to the information released by the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, by the middle of 2021, the average price of soybeans had reached 5554.6 yuan / ton, up 32.4% from 4194.3 yuan / ton in 2015. Due to the epidemic, the price of soybeans is not expected to fall significantly in the short term. 36.3g soybean protein can be extracted from every 100g of soybean. The average market price of soybean protein is about 350000 yuan / ton, 63 times that of soybean. In addition, the soybean residue after extracting soybean protein can still be used as feed to reduce waste and greatly enhance the added value of soybean.


Taking advantage of the local advantages of Heilongjiang and adopting local soybeans, Fuyao food has driven the development of local soybean planting industry, created a large number of local jobs and driven the development of local economy. At the same time, from soybean protein to plant meat, from soybean meal and soybean residue to feed, Fuyao has been committed to improving the added value of soybean, extending the soybean industry chain and promoting the steady development of soybean processing industry.


The head of Fuyao food research and development said: "Our team will not be confined to one circle. In the future, we want to establish a plant protein database. The statistical data are not only soybean protein or pea protein and wheat protein with the highest degree of commercialization. In the later stage, we may add the statistical data of other proteins, such as quinoa protein, chickpea protein, algal protein, etc. we aim to constantly explore higher quality proteins and their availability and evaluate them Whether these proteins can be used in our plant-based products on a large scale, in order to develop more optimized plant-based products, put them into the market, improve human dietary structure and contribute to our dietary health and physical health. "


Plant based food: help the food industry achieve ESG and carbon neutralization

Plant based food is a good ESG solution for the food industry and has far-reaching significance for China to achieve the goal of "carbon neutralization".

According to the results of the paper published by the authoritative journal Science, "animal food needs to be responsible for environmental problems. Meat and dairy products provide 18% calories and 37% protein for human beings, but occupy 83% of human farmland and emit 60% of agricultural greenhouse gases, resulting in excessive use of land and water sources, acidification and eutrophication of water bodies." Animal husbandry and aquaculture produce a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial chain from breeding to processing. According to the relevant reports of the United Nations and the World Resources Research Institute, animal husbandry is the main pressure source of many ecosystems and even the whole earth. It is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases, accounting for 12%.


In the process of realizing the goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutralization", how to reduce carbon emissions from the food industry and ensure the nutritional supply of Chinese people has become a very important theme. The outline of China's food and Nutrition Development (2014-2020) issued by the general office of the State Council clearly puts forward that "inherit the fine dietary tradition dominated by plant food and supplemented by animal food". According to CICC, if the public can optimize the dietary structure on the premise of meeting the balanced nutrition of the human body, the carbon emission of that year can be reduced by 66.21 million tons in 2030.


Plant protein meat and plant-based beverage in plant-based food can be used as efficient alternative food for finished products of animal husbandry and aquaculture. According to public information, compared with animal protein, plant protein can reduce energy consumption by 46%, the impact on water shortage by 99% and the impact on land use by 93%.


The person in charge of Fuyao food research and development said: "Traditional animal husbandry needs a lot of land or water resources for breeding activities, as well as a lot of plant protein for feed. The average growth cycle of livestock and poultry takes half a year to one year, and an average of 5g of plant protein can be transformed into 1g of animal meat; in comparison, plant protein meat has obvious environmental protection advantages. The production cycle of plant protein meat only takes a few days, and 1.5g of plant protein can be transformed into 1g of plant protein meat and protein The quality conversion efficiency is very high. In other words, we can produce the same energy with less space and resources. "


In addition, plant-based food can also effectively solve the problem of food supply shortage in China. According to the report of Oriental premium Commodity Research Institute, from the supply side, China's meat production capacity is insufficient to meet the total demand of national protein intake, and a considerable amount of meat comes from imports. The average annual growth rate of China's meat imports exceeded 10%, and the import volume was close to 10 million tons in 2020.


Wang Jun, President of Oriental premium Commodity Research Institute, said: "China's meat shortage is very serious, and the meat shortage corresponds to the serious shortage of protein supply. It is estimated that China's protein shortage is nearly 10 million tons. The application of plant protein will become an important means to solve the meat gap in China. The supply of plant-based food can make up for the meat supply gap, alleviate consumers' demand for meat, and effectively solve China's food security; plant-based food is rich in high-quality plant protein , it can meet the protein nutritional needs of the people, and make our rice bowls on the table and the nutritional supply in the rice bowls safer. "


Plant based food: redefining "healthy food" with science and technology

Nowadays, the plant-based food industry is attracting more and more attention, and government agencies and public welfare organizations have also supported the development of the plant-based food industry. For many consumers, plant-based food is still a new thing. In the next few years, what kind of upgrading and iteration will plant-based food experience, and what is the development direction?


Wang Zhe, general manager of Fuyao food, is a national second-class researcher and expert with special allowance of the State Council. He once served as deputy director of the national soybean technology center. Wang Zhe said: "I think plant-based food needs to be strongly driven by food science and technology. Plant-based food is redefining 'healthy food' with science and technology. Now all the healthy food we enjoy are animals and plants that are rich in nutrition. In the future, with the continuous progress of plant-based food science and technology, healthy food can be customized according to people's different needs, and meet the requirements of 'delicious taste', 'rich nutrition' and 'high absorption' The requirements of "efficiency", "no side effects", "low carbon and environmental protection".


"I think there are four main directions for the development of plant-based food in the next few years. First, it is urgent to realize the efficient absorption of plant protein. Compared with animal protein, the absorption and utilization rate of plant protein is lower than that of animal protein because the protein surface is wrapped with fiber. The R & D team of Fuyao food is the first to solve the problem of absorption and utilization rate of plant protein, based on the molecular basis of protein structure change, from texture characteristics and rheological properties And human digestive characteristics, and obtained some breakthrough results, which greatly improved the absorption and utilization rate of plant protein in human body, from 60% to more than 80%.


"The second is to reduce the cost. The production of plant-based food requires a high level of process integration. The complex process needs to be accurately amplified to ensure the large-scale production of plant-based food, which leads to the high production cost of plant meat. Fuyao plant-based food factory realizes advanced technology integration and the overall solution of the production line. The production line can produce high moisture plant protein meat at a low cost and complete the high-precision interaction of different machines Positioning and connection solves the technical problems of adaptive processing, and realizes the technical integration of core equipment and supporting system.



Comparison between high moisture vegetable protein meat of Fuyao food and domestic mainstream low moisture vegetable protein meat

"Third, the product texture is diversified. Plant protein will have more structural forms, imitate and replace meat products, dairy products, etc., and even extend more food forms we have never seen before. For example, most of the current plant protein meat products are low moisture plant protein meat, and the water molecules are free outside the plant meat. The cooked plant meat is like sponge absorbing water, and the taste must be bad; it is produced by Fuyao food Plant protein meat locks water in the texture of plant meat to form "structural water", just as the skin tissue of an animal contains water, but it will not squeeze out water. The taste of high moisture plant meat can be very similar to that of animal meat.


"The fourth is the intervention of refined nutrition management. It is necessary to add trace elements and nutrients suitable for specific groups in the production process of plant-based food, so that people can get rid of drugs or nutritional supplements and achieve physical health only through diet."


Case comments:

In the past few years, Fuji group has paid close attention to the development and application of plant-based food, which is an excellent food industry in China. Fuji group will pay close attention to the development and application of plant-based food. Fuji group will focus on the field of healthy food in the past few years The, production and marketing teams are full of sincerity for plant-based food, unremitting innovation and research and development, seeking truth and doing a good job in the industry, not impetuous and rash, which is a very precious team character. We believe that Fuyao food will become a mountain peak in the plant-based field in China and even the world, and also make outstanding contributions to the 'carbon neutralization' of the food industry. "


Sun Mingtao, chairman and President of Dongfang Group Co., Ltd


Date:2022-04-06