Spent brewers' yeast based alternative meat

Abstract

Alternative meat from a material comprising spent brewers' yeast as the primary ingredient is provided herein. The product contains from 20% to 80% dry weight spent brewers' yeast, has a meaty flavor and texture, and a reduced RNA content, making it safe for human consumption.

1 - 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A meat substitute suitable for human consumption comprising:
 a yeast; and   a ribonucleic acid (RNA) content less than 4% of the meat substitute's protein dry weight, and wherein the meat substitute is made from a mix comprising at least 20% liquid yeast by weight, inclusively, based upon the total weight of the mix.   
     
     
         20 . The meat substitute of  claim 19  wherein the liquid yeast comprises spent brewers' yeast, spent distillers' yeast, surplus yeast from ethanol manufacturing, bakers' yeast, nutritional yeast, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         21 . The meat substitute of  claim 19  further comprising a secondary protein ingredient wherein the secondary protein ingredient comprises vegetable protein, microbial protein, fungal protein, animal protein, or cultured protein, and wherein the secondary protein ingredient is in a native, concentrated, or isolated form, or a combination thereof 
     
     
         22 . The meat substitute of  claim 19  wherein the liquid yeast comprises 8 to 25% solids, inclusively, based on the total weight of the liquid yeast. 
     
     
         23 . The meat substitute of  claim 19  wherein the liquid yeast comprises 8 to 11% solids, inclusively, based on the total weight of the liquid yeast. 
     
     
         24 . The meat substitute of  claim 19  wherein the liquid yeast comprises 15 to 25% solids, inclusively, based on the total weight of the liquid yeast. 
     
     
         25 . The meat substitute of  claim 19  wherein mix comprises from 65 to 70% liquid yeast by weight, inclusively, based upon the total weight of the mix. 
     
     
         26 . The meat substitute of  claim 19  wherein the liquid yeast comprises one or more of debittered, autolyzed, or hydrolyzed yeast. 
     
     
         27 . The meat substitute of  claim 19  wherein the meat substitute is made by a process comprising heat treatment and pressure applied by extrusion. 
     
     
         28 . A meat substitute suitable for human consumption comprising:
 a yeast; and   a ribonucleic acid (RNA) content less than 4% of the meat substitute's protein dry weight, and wherein the meat substitute is made from a mix comprising at least 10% dry yeast by weight, inclusively, based upon the total weight of the mix.   
     
     
         29 . The meat substitute of  claim 28  further comprising a secondary protein ingredient wherein the secondary protein ingredient comprises vegetable protein, microbial protein, fungal protein, animal protein, or cultured protein, and wherein the secondary protein ingredient is in a native, concentrated, or isolated form, or a combination thereof 
     
     
         30 . The meat substitute of  claim 28  wherein the ribonucleic acid (RNA) content is less than 0.14% of the meat substitute's dry weight. 
     
     
         31 . The meat substitute of  claim 28  wherein the ribonucleic acid (RNA) content is greater than 0.07% and less than 0.14%, inclusively, of the meat substitute's dry weight. 
     
     
         32 . The meat substitute of  claim 28  wherein the meat substitute is made by a process comprising heat treatment and pressure applied by extrusion. 
     
     
         33 . A meat substitute suitable for human consumption comprising:
 10 to 20% yeast protein by weight, inclusively, based on the total dry weight of the meat substitute;   at least one secondary protein ingredient; and   a ribonucleic acid (RNA) content less than 4% of the meat substitute's protein dry weight.   
     
     
         34 . The meat substitute of  claim 33  wherein the source of the yeast protein comprises spent brewers' yeast, spent distillers' yeast, surplus yeast from ethanol manufacturing, bakers' yeast, nutritional yeast, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         35 . The meat substitute of  claim 33  wherein the secondary protein ingredient comprises vegetable protein, microbial protein, fungal protein, animal protein, or cultured protein. 
     
     
         36 . The meat substitute of  claim 33  wherein the ribonucleic acid (RNA) content is less than 0.14% of the meat substitute's dry weight. 
     
     
         37 . The meat substitute of  claim 33  wherein the ribonucleic acid (RNA) content is greater than 0.07% and less than 0.14%, inclusively, of the meat substitute's dry weight. 
     
     
         38 . The meat substitute of  claim 33  wherein the meat substitute is made by a process comprising heat treatment and pressure applied by extrusion.