Ingredient technology to produce clean-label products that meet quality expectations is leading development in gums, binders and other emulsifiers. Additionally, use of gums, binders and emulsifiers to make plant-protein-based meat analogs more similar to meat products continues to progress, says Wes Schilling, professor of food science at Mississippi State University.

As processors attempt to provide clean or simple labels to consumers by reducing the number of ingredients in their products, gums and binders stand out on product labels.

As consumers demand more transparency on product labels, they are requesting fewer ingredients or, at least, ones that don’t sound like they come from chemistry class.

Our objective was to examine shelf stability, water loss during cooking and consumer sensory characteristics of beef patties with no added binder (Control), soy flour (TVP) or dry potato extracts.