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Plant-based meat substitutes and their nutritional composition : A study on iron content, zinc content, calcium content and protein quality in meatballs and plant-based substitutes and how they contribute to the goal of reaching recommended daily intakes

The purpose of this thesis was to study similarities and differences between a meat product and its plant-based substitutes in terms of how they enable people to reach the recommended daily intakes (RDI). The meat product included in the study were meatballs and its substitutes were three different plant-based alternatives. One was mainly based on soy, one on pea protein and one consisted of several different vegetables. The parameters studied were iron, zinc and calcium content as well as protein quality. By analyzing the four different products with flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), the mineral content was calculated and protein quality was determined using amino acid analyzis carried out by the laboratory analysis company ALS. The method used to determine protein quality was DIAAS (Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score). Example meals and example days were created to visualize any differences and similarities when the products were put in a wider perspective. The results showed that there were differences between the products when they were compared individually, but that the differences were negligible when the products were included in an example meal or example day. This indicates that the products fulfill comparable dietary requirements and that the plant-based products were good substitutes for the meat product. The soy-based product was the best plant-based alternative when it comes to iron content, calcium content and protein quality. However, the soy product and the remaining substitutes reached recommended intakes for the same parameters when included in example days, which shows that the differences between the products are only present when analyzed individually.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-96761
Date January 2020
CreatorsThyrén, Linnea
PublisherLinnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kemi och biomedicin (KOB)
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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