Japan unveils future-food breakthrough: ‘meat’ made from rice bran
Defatted rice bran is often wasted as it lacks practical applications, but a Japanese scientist and firm have managed to turn the byproduct into a high-protein food.
Yamagata University Prof Masanori Watanabe and rice milling machine manufacturer Satake Corp have announced success in their efforts to produce a meat substitute using protein extracted from defatted rice bran. The breakthrough is expected to bring a new source of income for farmers in the future.
Meat substitutes are made from soybeans and other plant-derived ingredients, which are processed to closely resemble the real thing. Fake meat is being heralded as a protein source that could help stave off the food crisis caused by population growth, climate change and war.
The rice-bran breakthrough is bound to catch the eye of Thailand’s substitute-meat industry, which is a global leader in the growing trend of sustainable future foods.
The defatted rice bran used in Prof Watanabe’s project is residue left over when rice oil is extracted from rice bran.
It has few uses other than as livestock feed and is often discarded.
Watanabe, who specialises in bio function and bioprocess engineering, developed a technology to extract highly concentrated and nutritious protein from this defatted rice bran and obtained a patent for it in 2015.
The meat substitute produced is close to real meat in appearance and tenderness, and the aroma and taste can be adjusted during the production process.
The substitute can be produced from domestically grown ingredients and is not genetically modified, which could help it gain acceptance as a product that is safe to eat.
“The shift to an agriculture that produces white rice and protein will help promote a shift to profitable and sustainable rice cultivation,” Watanabe told press last month.
The tenderness of the plant-based meat can be easily adjusted so that elderly people with a reduced appetite will find it easy to consume, he said.
“It will help prevent loss of muscle mass and extend people’s healthy life expectancy,” he added.
The Japan News
Asia News Network
