Ukrainians launch the production of artificial meat

A Ukrainian company, Eat Me At, has launched vegetable meat in the form of minced meat on the market, which in terms of taste does not differ from meat products.

According to Mind.ua, the list of the ingredients includes minerals that are naturally extracted from the mycelium of Koji, a type of mushroom that is often used in the Asian cuisine for the fermentation of products. They bring the taste of meat and solve the problem of iron deficiency.

In the United States, plant-based meat began to be developed almost ten years ago. In 2018, when it was already possible to buy it in supermarkets and try it in local restaurants, the founder of Eat Me At, Andrii Cherukha, went to America to try and bring samples to Ukraine.

“During two years, starting from 2018, I met dozens of technologists from different countries, we did hundreds of tests, minced meat recipes, developed own manufacturing technologies before we have got a product that we completely liked,” says the founder of the startup.

Andrii Cherukha told what ingredients are included in the vegetable mince produced by Eat Me At:

• The basis is a textured soy protein rich in vegetable proteins;
• Yeast extracts, which are made from inactive yeast, are responsible for the taste; they are very rich in proteins and B vitamins;
• For the taste of meat and solving the problem of iron deficiency in the diet of people, we add Koji minerals;
• Methylcellulose is used to bind the minced meat into a stable mass, which is similar to gelatin in properties;
• Coconut and sunflower oils are added for fat content.
• Beet juice and natural caramel coloring mimic the color of the meat.

The founder of Eat Me At says that such a product could be an alternative to animal meat.

“Since my university days, I have practiced vegetarianism many times, but the maximum I managed was one year. Probably, because meat is delicious for me, and it is too much integrated into our daily life. But it was always unacceptable for me how animal meat is obtained. There are many things that humanity remembers as the dark spot of history. Looking at the development of civilization, in a few decades, we will be just the same ashamed of the cruelty to animals and damage to the environment – just for the sake of the food taste,” says Andrii Cherukha.

According to the Eat Me At website, the price for a 350-gram package of the product will be 160 UAH, in case of wholesale orders, discounts of up to 10% are provided.