Page 14 - IAV Digital Magazine #564

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
New plant-based Salmon Has ‘Muscle Fibers’ And ‘Connective Tissue' Just Like Real Deal
The hardest part about going plant- based is finding alternatives for foods you really love. While Quorn nuggets might replace chicken ones, other alter- natives are hard- er to find.
Plant-based diets are becoming increasingly pop- ular as the market works to improve veggie offerings, with more and more brands moving away from bean burg-
ers in favor of meat imitations.
Fish has been a tough one to mimic, with most companies per- fecting their meat alternatives first or opting for fish fingers alterna- tives.
There are a few fake salmon fillets on the market already but a new plant-based salmon alterna- tive that appar- ently looks, cooks, and tastes
like the real thing could be on the way.
This salmon alter- native was creat- ed in Toronto, Canada, and looks near-identi- cal to real fish. Interestingly, it's all down to the science behind it.
New School Foods website reads: "We've recreated the structure of a salmon filet, including aligned muscle fibers,
connective tissue, fats, and other components thanks to our pro- prietary muscle fiber & scaffolding technologies."
Looks aren't everything as the salmon alterna- tive is also" high in protein, and matches the same level of Omega 3's found in wild salmon".
Rather than being prepared for con- sumers and pre- cooked, the fillet is raw and visibly cooked and crisps up like real fish.
Overfishing has become a major environmental issue, with popu- lations of both flora and fauna declining at a concerning rate, as well as nets and other appara- tus damaging the sea floor.
In 2021, The Guardian report- ed that salmon farming was "wreaking ruin on marine ecosys- tems" due to major sea lice infestations. Natasha Hurley, campaigns man- ager at the Changing Markets Foundation, told the publication: "Moving away from using wild caught fish in food would make salmon farming more sustainable, as it is having a huge impact on wild fish."
Lab-created salmon could ease the strain on marine life by opening doors to a wider variety of fish replace- ments, minimizing the need for industrial fishing practices and overfishing.
The salmon alter- native is not yet on the market and will be launched in North America later this year but only in participating restaurants, so it could be some time before we see it on UK shelves.
Until then, there are some smoked salmon slices on the market as well as a salmon fillet from vegan brands Vivera and Sainsbury's P lant Pioneers, which are also fortified with omega-3.
Omega-3 fats are great for heart and brain health as well as reduc- ing inflammation and helping regu- late blood clot- ting.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine