A complete portfolio for all your meat processing needs

According to Mintel Market Sizes analyses and projections, the processed meat retail showed a pick in 2017, increasing by value by 10.9%. In 2022 Processed Meat Retail is forecast to reach R8 393.5mn representing a value CAGR of 1.4% since 2018.

Meat retail is dominated by chilled meat, followed at distance by frozen and shelf stables options.The new launches in the meat, poultry and fish categories in South Africa are reflecting some global trends, with consumer interest being focused on three main areas:

• Sustainability and animal welfare:

Consumers are increasingly expecting food companies to proactively demonstrate their ethical credentials.

More meat and poultry producers are taking steps to improve their ethical image.

• Address consumers’ dietary needs:

Meat and poultry brands are proactively highlighting the nutritional profile of their products. Healthier options, like meat and vegetable blends, or processed meats that contain less fat, salt and calories are likely to appeal to healthconscious consumers.

• Prioritise clean label products:

The clean eating trend poses a serious challenge to the processed meat market, as consumers are carefully examining product labels and looking for more natural and healthier choices.

Few trends specific of the South African market are addressing the nutritional profile, for example highlighting the interest for high/added protein. There is an interest for the inclusion of vegetarian options, and combinations of meat and vegetables seem to target consumers looking for healthier options.

Convenient and easy-toprepare meals are on the rise, being the microwavable option for meat, poultry and fish preparation one of the most appreciated trends.

Looking at processed meat and fish, from the simple minced meat patties to “chef at home” style recipes, there is a clear interest in eating more natural and less processed foods.

This represents an opportunity for brands to remove artificial additives and source natural, less- processed ingredients. Consumer concerns about artificial ingredients open up opportunities for natural alternatives that are compatible with consumer aspirations for clean label.

New trends are prompting consumers to dine at home: prepared meals should deliver comfort food as well as innovation, exotic taste, and “excitement to the taste buds”.

The rise of plant-based foods or combination of meat and vegetables require a diversification of protein sources and flavours, while keeping an eye to taste appeal and delicious solutions.

Umami taste and kokumi sensation are key for an enhanced taste experience and consumers expect those attributes to be delivered by natural ingredients. Yeast extracts and other yeast-based specialties are natural ingredients produced with gentle heat treatment and partial or total separation of the inner part of the cell, rich in protein, from the yeast cell wall.

According to the strain and production conditions, yeast-based ingredients can be naturally rich in savoury molecules associated with umami taste and kokumi mouthfulness. These include nucleotides, glutathione and other molecules. As a result, meals will increase in succulence and acquire a satisfactory, long-lasting savoury taste.

The Bio-Ingredients division of Lallemand develops, manufactures and markets high-value yeast products. Because of Lallemand’s knowledge and experience, we enjoy helping customers best use these products for their applications. Deeply rooted in research and development, Lallemand Bio-Ingredients has the knowledge, experience, and technical capacity to aid in the development of new products as well as beloved, time-tested, household formulas. The company prides itself on providing options which are both sustainable and clean, empowering the food industry and consumers to follow their preferred lifestyle and culinary practices.

Within a wide portfolio of natural, yeast-based ingredients, Lallemand offer to improve the flavour profile of processed meat, poultry and fish, and their plant-based alternatives, would include:

Toravita 054 a unique Torula autolysed yeast with a naturally high protein content (> 50%) and abundance in savoury-related molecules, such as nucleotides, is an umami ingredient well-suited for a variety of food applications, from snacks to spice blends and marinades, enabling the achievement of a rich taste.

High-Lyfe 566 A, produced from a selected primary grown Saccharomyces cerevisiae, thanks to the high concentration of naturally occurring amino acids, such as glutamic and succinic acid, and the inherent presence of cysteine and glutathione. It provides a powerful taste enrichment, with a long-lasting, mouthful taste contribution. The pleasant and intense poultry note unveils a powerful building block for the creation of complex flavour profiles. Glutathione compounds significantly improve the organoleptic qualities of food. In the presence of small amounts of peptides, 5’-nucleotides and MSG, GSH synergistically reinforces those tastes.

The Savor-Lyfe range offers clean label solutions to enhance specific flavour notes, such as beef, chicken, white fish, providing an elegant taste foundation for ready-to-eat, microwavable meals.

Selected ingredients from the Toravita range would help the formulators to reduce the impact of plant-based protein taste in meat and fish mimicking meals as well as in food preparations which are including vegetable protein sources to achieve the “high protein” claim, so relevant for the South-African market in the recent period.

As an example, for producing mouth-watering fish analog sticks, free from ingredients of animal origin, the combination of Savor-Lyfe FB with Toravita 300 delivers an increased fish taste perception: Savor-Lyfe FB increases the marine profile with its boiled fish taste donation, while Toravita 300 masks the undesired notes brought by the vegetable source of protein. As a result, the meal is much closer in taste to an animal-based preparation, keeping the promise of a more sustainable as well as appetising meal.

As in terms of flavored meat/poultry meals the BBQ flavour is on the rise on the South-African market, Bakon Memphis Style represents a great opportunity to introduce a traditionally smoked ingredient in the meal preparation! Manufactured by a unique process, Bakon Memphis Style with its robust hickory essence profile evokes the traditional BBQ cooking style of Memphis area, offering to the market a new alternative in the BBQ flavored meals.

Are you interested in knowing more about these products? In South Africa, Lallemand Bio-Ingredients Savory products are successfully distributed by Savannah Fine Chemicals. •