GoldRella: A next-generation ingredient for successful plant-based foods

Recently, as interest in sustainability in social and environmental sectors such as health, environmental issues, climate change, and animal welfare increases, the demand for alternative foods is increasing. In a situation where meat and seafood consumption is expanding worldwide, substitute foods are expected to act as one of the solutions to future food crises while absorbing some traditional food demand. As a result, the global substitute food market is expected to grow from $35.6 billion in 2021 to $77.8 billion in 2025, and is expected to record an average annual growth rate of 18.6% from 2020 to 2030 due to increased demand for plant-based meat and dairy products (source: Statista).

In the field of plant foods and beverages, taste, texture and appearance are the most important factors when a consumer considers a purchase. Reproducing the taste of existing traditional animal products is the biggest challenge for alternative foods, and it acts as a basic barrier for consumers not to seek alternative foods (source: GFI, State of the Industry Report | Plant-based meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy). In addition, criticism has recently been raised on the lack of nutrients in plant-based protein compared to existing animal products and the labeling of many ingredients on the label (especially food additives). Due to these problems, the need for new technologies and ingredients is increasing, and it is most important to select the right ingredients that provide all the functions of taste, texture, and nutritional ingredients.

Daesang, Korea's representative fermentation-based manufacturing company that produced MSG through fermentation for the first time in Korea in 1956 and currently produces and sells amino acids/seasoning materials/microalgae products to the global market, has developed and launched GoldRella (Yellow Chlorella), which can be widely applied to alternative foods, in line with recent trends. While solving the problem of color or off-flavor when applying green chlorella, which is sold as an existing immune-enhancing function, to general foods, it was confirmed that it can be applied as a solution material in the alternative food market through research on basic physical properties for application to alternative foods and application studies such as egg replacement, alternative cheese, plant-based meat.?

GoldRella: A next-generation ingredient for successful plant-based foods

Made from the sustainable microalgae Chlorella protothecoides, GoldRella can be added to existing plant-based products to significantly improve taste, texture, appearance and function. GoldRella not only improves plant foods, but is a superfood in its own right. It is a total vegan food solution that adds nutrition with 60% protein, 20% fiber and all essential amino acids. Among the amino acids, it is particularly rich in arginine and glutamic acid, and contains a high content of folic acid and vitamins B1 and B12 (nutrients deficient, essential for those following a vegan or plant-based diet). In addition, GoldRella performs several functions that help plant-based food manufacturers successfully overcome some of the biggest technical challenges when producing products.

As a result of analysis by an external laboratory (The National Food Lab), it was confirmed that GoldRella was superior to soybean and pea proteins in terms of protein stability, nitrogen solubility, heat stability, water function, and emulsification ability. These characteristics make up for the lack of other vegetable protein sources when used in vegetable products. For example, thanks to its excellent water resistance, it provides sufficient moisture and bonding strength for both Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP) and High Moisture Meat Analog (HMMA), and exhibits excellent emulsifying ability and cohesion when applied to egg substitutes.

Egg Replacement

People buy egg substitutes for health reasons (phenylketonuria, egg allergy, high cholesterol content, etc.) and preference for a vegetarian diet. Recently, the price of animal eggs has risen due to the avian flu and inflation, which is expected to lead to the growth of the alternative egg market. Daesang confirmed that the taste, color, and shape similar to real eggs can be reproduced when up to 2% of GoldRella is applied to the replacement eggs (Fig 1). It can impart a bright yellow color suitable for making scrambled eggs or egg yolks. Egg-like flavor can be implemented without egg flavor, and umami can be provided and salty flavor can be balanced. It also has the great advantage of being able to provide vitamin B12, which is abundant in animal eggs.

Cheese substitute

The amount of greenhouse gas emitted to make 1 lb of cheese is 21 lb, the highest after beef and lamb, and water consumption is 673 gallons, which is the highest among food products. When consuming cheese, interest in alternative cheese intake is increasing due to health problems such as high cholesterol content, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, and the development and production of vegan cheese is also becoming active. However, the dissimilar taste of real cheese and its insoluble properties due to lack of casein are major barriers to limiting the consumption of alternative cheeses. In addition, there are high costs and allergy issues for nuts, which are often used in vegan cheese, and fat components such as coconut oil are used as the main ingredient, so the saturated fat content is high, and the protein and calcium content are very low or low, and micronutrients (Iodine, Vit B12, Vit D) are insufficient. Daesang proposes GoldRella as a solution to these problems. When GoldRella is added at 5% to 15% in the vegan cheese blend, it improves nutrition, color, taste, and texture without affecting slice-ability or melting properties. In addition, creamy mouthfeel can be maintained while partially replacing the oil content in the mixing ratio, and the results of improving the umami/savory flavor and cheddar cheese flavor have been confirmed. The results of sensory evaluation of actual cheese, commercially available vegan cheese and GoldRella can be seen in Fig. 2. Even during the Aging and Freeze Test, synerisis and drying and hardening effects can be reduced, moisture migration can be prevented, and the taste of the original sample can be maintained.

Meat substitutes: effectively reproduces the texture of beef, chicken, and fish

Just by adding varying amounts of GoldRella to an existing meat substitute product, you can achieve a very different texture. Adding only 3% of GoldRella to a soy-based HMMA product reproduces the texture of beef, adding 5% mimics the fibrous properties of chicken, and adding 10% gives the texture of fish (Table 2). It is known that it is difficult to effectively imitate the texture of light and thinly peeled chicken breast or fish, but with GoldRella, it is possible to more easily implement similar textures for each type of meat.

?Taste Benefits : Flavor boosting, bean odor masking

Because of GoldRella's umami flavor, it can be added to almost any savory food, from egg substitutes, cheese substitutes, vegan meat and fish balls, vegan chicken soup, to protein drink powders. In addition to improving flavor with umami, GoldRella plays an important role in masking off-flavors in legume proteins caused by 2-Pentylfuran and 2-Heptanone. As a result of chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) experiments, it was confirmed that GoldRella effectively reduces 2-Pentylfuran by 12% and 2-Heptanone by 27%.

Sustainability and Certification Status

Recently, microalgae are attracting worldwide attention as a sustainable material. Comparing the sustainability of GoldRella to beef and pulses, the time spent on harvesting (growth) is only 6 days for GoldRella compared to 1.5 years for beef and 3 months for pulses. In addition, comparing the water consumption per 1g of protein produced, 112 liters of beef and 19 liters of legumes are required, whereas GoldRella only requires 300 milliliters of water, confirming a significant water saving effect. For land use, 119 m2 of beef and about 3 m2 of legumes are used per 1,000 kcal, while GoldRella requires only 0.07 m2 of land. The use of GoldRella allows us to provide consumers with more sustainable products.

In addition, GoldRella has been recognized as an ingredient that consumers can trust and consume through various certifications. It has obtained vegan, kosher, halal, FSSC 22000, ISO 9001, Non-GMO, and SA-GRAS, and is expanding sales around the world, including Korea, the United States, and Europe.

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White Chlorella: Versatile New Chlorella Ingredient

Recently, Daesang developed White Chlorella with the same Chlorella strain as GoldRella. The basic nutritional composition is similar to GoldRella, and it is a versatile ingredient that can be applied to a wider range of foods due to its white color. As a result of analysis by the target research institute, it has excellent function, protein solubility, etc., shows dispersion stability when applied to basic cookies and whipped cream, reduces cookie spreadability index, and improves storage stability by reducing oil separation of whipped cream. In the future, various alternative food applications including alternative eggs will be tested.