Using Textured Soy Proteins (Response) to Improve Quality in Ground Meats

Today, meat processors and food formulators are often confronted with choices of saving money by replacing using less expensive ground beef,pork or poultry and thereby sacrificing quality,flavor or texture. Our experience with assisting formulators is that you can have both cost savings and better quality by picking the proper ingredient!

Historically, ground meat users for fresh or cooked patties or other formed product like meatballs and meatloaf would use a product called TVP or Textured Soy Flour. This product is provided as a flake for ease of use and would have the same protein content as meat when hydrated with 2 part water to one part TVP. However as TVP is made from soy flour its protein content cannot hold the water well, making the beef patty suffer with softer texture as well as a more noticeable beany flavor.

Fortunately for the meat processor and formulator, a better generation of textured soy was developed called Response®. Response is a textured soy concentrate, with more protein(67%) versus TVP at 50% as well as having a much improved protein-based texture. This improved texture once hydrated at the recommend level of 2.6 parts water to one part Response provides the protein quality, texture and clean flavor expected in extending ground meat and other ground fillings at common levels of 15 to 20%. We have had many success stories that we can share of meat and food processors extending their patties and fillings with Response allowing them to provide products with lower fat,less shrinkage upon cooking and holding before serving, drier more manageable fillings as well as the resulting cost savings by replacing more costly beef,pork or poultry.

For more information on how to use Response in your processed meat application, contact us and we will provide you with technical assistance and samples.