Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A startup called Moolec Science, “injected” the gene into soybeans to make vegan meat taste more like meat from animals.
Based on reports from Wired quoted by Futursim, Moolec modifies soybeans for the noble mission of reducing livestock meat consumption. Pig genes injected into soybeans make soybeans have porcine protein (resembling pork).
According to Moolec, a quarter of the protein dissolved in soybeans makes the plant identifiable as pork. In fact, the texture of soybeans is more “pink” in color and tastes “meatier.” However, until now synthetic meat products from Moolec modified soybeans are not yet available to the public.
Moolec's efforts include a lot of research to make raw materials that resemble meat that is closer to the original. The problem is, consumers are still difficult to convince to switch from meat to substitute raw materials even though the taste and texture are very similar.
“I believe that the growth of the plant-based food industry is slowing down because the price, taste and aroma are good, but not good enough,” said Moolec CEO Gastón Paladini.
“Companies still need to improve taste and texture and reduce costs.”
Rather than replacing meat, Paladini wants to offer a way to cut costs with their homemade products. Moolec also has a subsidiary called Bioceres Crop Solutions, which is trying to engineer pea plants to produce cow protein and safflower to produce milk coagulant.
However, Wired stated that Moolec's success in the laboratory would be hit by regulatory obstacles in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
(dem/dem)