Meat replacement with protein fibers: what to expect from a 20-25% meat-by-meat solution

When you think of fiber—and especially in a food product—typically what comes to mind is an ingredient or nutrient that is partially, or fully, indigestible. That’s called dietary fiber—aka bamboo or citrus fibers like pectin.

What is a protein fiber?

Sonac’s new protein fibers—called QExtend Pork PF12 and QExtend Beef PF12—which are made by a patented process instead mimic some functionalities of muscle protein fibers and are digested the way a protein is digested.

To make it, we start with plasma from food-grade blood. Our one-of-a-kind process transforms the plasma into a stable, fixed structure. Those so-called fibers mimic the functionalities of muscle protein fibers so the product—QExtend—can replace a part of the meat, be it ground or emulsified meat.

Why use QExtend?

There are multiple reasons to incorporate QExtend into your beef or pork product formulations. First, replacing a substantial part of the meat contents (up to 20-25%) with QExtend saves money because it is more affordable than raw beef and pork. QExtend is readily available and not as volatile and subject to market fluctuations as beef and pork can be. QExtend is a great back-up solution to when meat trimmings are harder to source or their quality has dipped. Lastly, if lowering fat content in your product is important to your organization or your customer, QExtend is a great addition. It allows you to take out a serious amount of the fat in your product, but because it also lends juiciness to a product, you don’t end up with a drier, less tasty product as you make it healthier.

How to use QExtend

QExtend Pork PF12 and QExtend Beef PF12 come in frozen blocks and in the same format and appearance as regular, frozen beef and pork meat that you’d use in an all-meat formulation. It’s protein-rich at 13% and is a solid paste-like consistency, which allows for a 1:1 replacement of meat. In other words, you can handle QExtend how you handle raw beef and pork meat.

For example, if you usually use five blocks of beef or pork meat in your formulation, when you want to implement QExtend, you could use four blocks of raw meat and one block of QExtend. Now you’ve replaced 20% of the lean meat content.

Why haven’t you heard of QExtend or protein fibers before?

QExtend is a completely new product and solution for the meat industry to replace meat and fat without sacrificing any quality in the end product. It is made by a patented process and was only introduced in 2019.

Want to learn more? Read more about QExtend Beef PF12 and QExtend Pork PF12 here. Or, download our whitepaper, The New Alternative: Replace Meat by Meat, for a complete summary of why and how to use QExtend.

Would you like to try this natural meat or fat replacer in your beef or pork product? Fill out our sample request here and a product specialist from Sonac will arrange for a sample to be sent.