Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 11 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin.[1]
Quorn is sold as both a cooking ingredient and as a meat substitute used in a range of prepackaged meals.
Though all Quorn products offer vegetarian options, not all offer vegan options.[2] All Quorn foods contain mycoprotein as an ingredient, which is derived from the Fusarium venenatum fungus.[3] In most Quorn products, the fungus culture is dried and mixed with egg white, which acts as a binder, and then is adjusted in texture and pressed into various forms. The vegan formulation uses potato protein as a binder instead of egg white.[4]
Microbial biomass is produced commercially as single-cell protein (SCP) for human food or animal feed and as viable yeast cells for the baking industry. The industrial production of bakers' yeast started in the early 1900s, and yeast biomass was used as human food in Germany during World War I. The development of large-scale processes for the production of microbial biomass as a source of commercial protein began in earnest in the late 1960s.
Several of the processes investigated did not come to fruition owing to political and economic problems, but the establishment of the ICI Pruteen process for the production of bacterial SCP for animal feed was a milestone in the development of the fermentation industry.[6] This process used continuous culture on a large scale 1,500m3 (53,000cuft). The economics of the production of SCP as animal feed were marginal, which eventually led to the discontinuation of the Pruteen process.
The technical expertise gained from the Pruteen process assisted ICI in collaborating with company Rank Hovis McDougall on a process for the production of fungal biomass for human food. A continuous fermentation process for the production of Fusarium venenatum biomass (marketed as Quorn) was developed using a 40m3 (1,400cuft) air-lift fermenter.[7][8]
During the 1960s, it was predicted that by the 1980s there would be a shortage of protein-rich foods.[9][10]
The filamentous fungus, Fusarium venenatum, was discovered in a soil sample in 1967.[11] In 1985, RHM was given permission to sell mycoprotein for human consumption after a ten-year evaluation programme.[12][13]
Retail history
The brand Quorn was first marketed in 1985 by Marlow Foods (named after Rank Hovis McDougall's headquarters in Marlow, Buckinghamshire), a joint venture between RHM and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), which provided a fermenter left vacant from their abandoned single-cell feed programme.[14] The two partners invested in patents for growing and processing the fungus, and other intellectual properties in the brand.[citation needed] The name of the product was taken from a trademark owned by RHM. This trademark was previously used for a range of instant food packets named after the Quorn Hunt, which in turn derives from the Leicestershire village of Quorn.[15][16]
Quorn entered distribution in the UK in 1993, and it was introduced to other parts of Europe in the 1990s, and to North America in 2002.[17]
Quorn is sold in ready-to-cook forms, such as cubes and a form resembling minced meat. The company later introduced a range of chilled vegetarian meals, including pizzas, lasagne, cottage pie, and products resembling sliced meat, hot dogs, and burgers.[21] By 2005, Quorn enjoyed around 60% of the meat-replacement food market in the UK, with annual sales of around £95 million.[10][22] By 2006, it was available in stores in the UK; Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland); and North America (Canada and United States). Since June 2010, it has been available in Australia.[23][24] In May 2012, Quorn Foods opened the German website quorn.de (now https://bestcon-food.de/quorn/) to relaunch Quorn in Germany.
In 2004, McDonald's introduced a Quorn-branded burger bearing the seal of approval of the Vegetarian Society.[26][27] However, as of 2009, the Quorn burgers were no longer available at any McDonald's restaurant in the UK, and the McPlant was made using Beyond Meat. In 2011, Quorn Foods launched a vegan burger into the United States market, using potato protein as a binder instead of egg albumen, to confer vegan status.[28] According to Quorn's website, by 2020, a number of Quorn items were available in United States markets, many of which are vegan. They also have gluten-free options.
As of 2014, it was reported that most consumers of Quorn are meat eaters rather than vegetarians.[29] The market for Quorn products is increasing worldwide and the company expects further growth.[30][31]
Ownership history
Originally conceived in 1985 and owned by Marlow Foods, a joint venture between Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), RHM exited the business in 1990 by selling its shares to ICI. When ICI spun off its biological products divisions from the core chemical business in 1993, Marlow Foods became a part of the newly formed Zeneca group, later AstraZeneca.
In 2003, AstraZeneca sold Marlow Foods, including the Quorn business and associated trademarks and patents, to Montagu Private Equity for £72m. Montagu sold the business on to Premier Foods in 2005 for £172m.[22]
Quorn is made from the soil mould Fusarium venenatum strain PTA-2684 (previously misidentified as the parasitic mould Fusarium graminearum[40]). The fungus is grown in continually oxygenated water in large, otherwise sterile fermentation tanks. Glucose and fixed nitrogen are added as a food for the fungus, as are vitamins and minerals to improve the food value of the product. The resulting mycoprotein is then extracted and heat-treated to remove excess levels of RNA. Previous attempts to produce such fermented protein foodstuffs were thwarted by excessive levels of DNA or RNA; without the heat treatment, purines, found in nucleic acids, are metabolised by humans to produce uric acid, which can lead to gout.[41]
The product is dried and mixed with egg albumen, which acts as a binder. It is then textured, giving it some of the grained character of meat, and pressed into a mince resembling ground beef; forms resembling chicken breasts, meatballs, and turkey roasts; or chunks resembling diced chicken breast. In these forms, Quorn has a varying colour and a mild flavour resembling the imitated meat product, and is suitable for use as a replacement for meat in many dishes, such as stews and casseroles.
The final Quorn product is high in protein and dietary fibre and is low in saturated fat. It contains less dietary iron than most meats and the manufacturers have not released much information about additives they use to make Quorn resemble meat. Quorn is considered acceptable in small amounts for babies over nine months old, but should be introduced gradually. The high fibre and low food energy content is better for adults than babies and too much fibre can cause flatulence. The salt content should be checked before giving Quorn to babies, since the salt content varies among products.[42][43]
The carbon footprint of Quorn Frozen Mince in the UK is claimed to be at least 80% less than that of beef.[44]
CSPI claimed that Quorn could cause allergic reactions and should be removed from stores. CSPI claimed in 2003 that it "sickens 4.5% of eaters".[48] The manufacturer (Marlow Foods) disputed the figure, claiming that only 0.0007% (1 in 146,000) suffer adverse reactions and that the strain of fungus it uses does not produce toxins.[48] Leslie Bonci, professor of nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh, described CSPI's claims as "overblown".[49] Wendy Preiser, Gardenburger's vice president of marketing, said the company feared that Quorn's labels would cause suspicion about all meat-free products.[50][49]
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority was concerned that Marlow's marketing of Quorn as "mushroom in origin" was "misleading consumers". Marlow Foods were asked either to delete the claim or modify it to identify its fungal origin.[51]
Quorn formerly used battery eggs in some of its production processes, a practice opposed on ethical grounds by many vegetarians. Working with the Vegetarian Society, which initially did not approve Quorn's products, Marlow began phasing out battery eggs in 2000,[52] and by 2004 all of their UK products were free of battery eggs, earning the Vegetarian Society's seal of approval.[25]
An asthma attack in 2003 was linked to Quorn. Tests showed Quorn to be the only food to which the patient had an allergic reaction. A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency stated that an allergy was not surprising, due to the high protein content.[53] Former FSA director Jon Bell responded in defence of Quorn, stating that several commonly consumed foods and food ingredients, such as soya, have a much higher intolerance level than Quorn. Adverse reactions were reported for 1 in 146,000 people who ate Quorn, compared to 1 in 35 who ate shellfish and 1 in 350 who ate soya.[53][54]
Mycoprotein patent expiration
In the European Union, patents expire after 20 years from their filing date. Since the first patent application was filed in 1985,[55] the mycoprotein patents had already expired in 2010 in all European Union countries. Now anyone can legally produce mycoprotein products using the previously patented processes, but using other brand names, because Marlow Foods maintains ownership of the Quorn brand name. On 14 March 2011, CEO Kevin Brennan said in an interview: "Some patents surrounding the core technology have expired, but the product uses a peculiar fermentation method, and we have 30-plus years' experience in perfecting this on site to produce the product better and at a lower cost. Huge related costs include £30m cost for a fermentation tower and related equipment, so you can't simply look at a patent and say 'there you go'."[56]
Vegan products
In late 2011, the first vegan Quorn product was released, called the Quorn Vegan Burger,[57] available initially only in the United States. Following strong sales of the product and increasing demand from the UK market, Quorn began development of a line of vegan products for the UK market, as well as reducing its use of eggs overall, using 3.5 million fewer eggs since 2010.[58] The first range of vegan Quorn in the UK included eight products and was launched in October 2015.[59]
In January 2019, Quorn produced the filling for a vegan sausage roll sold by UK bakery chain Greggs.[60] The product was consistently sold out, and was identified by the chain as a major contributor to increasing profits and a record share price.[61][62] In January 2020, Greggs released a Quorn-based vegan "steak bake".[63]
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat. It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products.
Mycoprotein, also known as mycelium-based protein or fungal protein, is a form of single-cell protein derived from fungi for human consumption.
A meat alternative or meat substitute, is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qualities of specific types of meat, such as mouthfeel, flavor, appearance, or chemical characteristics. Plant- and fungus-based substitutes are frequently made with soy, but may also be made from wheat gluten as in seitan, pea protein as in the Beyond Burger, or mycoprotein as in Quorn. Alternative protein foods can also be made by precision fermentation, where single cell organisms such as yeast produce specific proteins using a carbon source; as well as cultivated or laboratory grown, based on tissue engineering techniques.
A chicken nugget is a food product consisting of a small piece of deboned chicken meat that is breaded or battered, then deep-fried or baked. Developed in the 1950s by finding a way to make a coating adhere, chicken nuggets have become a very popular fast food restaurant item, and are widely sold frozen for home use.
A veggie burger is a hamburger made with a patty that does not contain meat, or the patty of such a hamburger. The patty may be made from ingredients like beans, nuts, grains, seeds, or fungi such as mushrooms or mycoprotein.
Fusarium is a large genus of filamentous fungi, part of a group often referred to as hyphomycetes, widely distributed in soil and associated with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes, and are relatively abundant members of the soil microbial community. Some species produce mycotoxins in cereal crops that can affect human and animal health if they enter the food chain. The main toxins produced by these Fusarium species are fumonisins and trichothecenes. Despite most species apparently being harmless, some Fusarium species and subspecific groups are among the most important fungal pathogens of plants and animals.
Tofurkey is a plant-based meat substitute patterned after turkey, in the form of a loaf of vegetarian protein, usually made from tofu or seitan with a stuffing made from grains or bread, flavored with a broth and seasoned with herbs and spices. It is often served at a vegetarian or vegan Thanksgiving meal.
RHM plc, formerly Rank Hovis McDougall, was a United Kingdom food business. The company owned numerous brands, particularly for flour, where its core business started, and for consumer food products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Premier Foods in March 2007.
Fusarium venenatum is a microfungus of the genus Fusarium that has a high protein content. One of its strains is used commercially for the production of the single cell protein mycoprotein Quorn.
Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The group owns many well-known brands, including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Bird's Custard, Angel Delight, Homepride cooking sauces, Lyons, Sharwood's, Loyd Grossman sauces, Oxo, Bisto, Batchelors and Plantastic. Premier Foods also produce cakes under the Cadbury's name, using the brand under licence. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Okara, soy pulp, or tofu dregs is a pulp consisting of insoluble parts of the soybean that remain after pureed soybeans are filtered in the production of soy milk and tofu. It is generally white or yellowish in color. It is part of the traditional cuisines of Japan, Korea, and China. Since the 20th century, it has been used in the vegetarian cuisines of Western nations.
Single-cell proteins (SCP) or microbial proteins refer to edible unicellular microorganisms. The biomass or protein extract from pure or mixed cultures of algae, yeasts, fungi or bacteria may be used as an ingredient or a substitute for protein-rich foods, and is suitable for human consumption or as animal feeds. Industrial agriculture is marked by a high water footprint, high land use, biodiversity destruction, general environmental degradation and contributes to climate change by emission of a third of all greenhouse gases; production of SCP does not necessarily exhibit any of these serious drawbacks. As of today, SCP is commonly grown on agricultural waste products, and as such inherits the ecological footprint and water footprint of industrial agriculture. However, SCP may also be produced entirely independent of agricultural waste products through autotrophic growth. Thanks to the high diversity of microbial metabolism, autotrophic SCP provides several different modes of growth, versatile options of nutrients recycling, and a substantially increased efficiency compared to crops. A 2021 publication showed that photovoltaic-driven microbial protein production could use 10 times less land for an equivalent amount of protein compared to soybean cultivation.
Vegetarian bacon, also referred to as veggie bacon, vegan bacon, vegan rashers, vacon, or facon, is a plant-based version of bacon.
Human interactions with fungi include both beneficial uses, whether practical or symbolic, and harmful interactions such as when fungi damage crops, timber, food, or are pathogenic to animals.
A meat-free sausage roll is a savoury pastry snack that contains a non-meat filling. The snack is an alternative to the conventional sausage roll that generally contains pork or beef. Meat-free sausage rolls are sold at retail outlets and are also available from bakeries as a take-away food.
Nature's Fynd is a company that develops microbe-based proteins for meat substitutes and dairy substitutes. The protein is produced by a fungus first identified in geothermal springs in Yellowstone National Park.
Prime Roots is an American koji-based meat-producing company focusing on deli and charcuterie products.
References
↑ "Quorn FAQ". Quorn.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
↑ Finnigan, TJA (2011) Mycoprotein: origins, production and properties. In Handbook of Food Proteins (eds. G. O. Philips and P. A. Williams), pp 335–352. Woodhead Publishing Ltd
↑ Wiebe, M. (March 2002). "Myco-protein from Fusarium venenatum: a well-established product for human consumption". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 58 (4): 421–427. doi:10.1007/s00253-002-0931-x. PMID11954786. S2CID206934191.
↑ Ebrahimi, Helia (25 January 2011). "Premier Foods sells Quorn and Cauldron for £205m". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011. Premier Foods [...] by offloading both Quorn and meat-free sausage brand Cauldron for £205m. [...] creating room for private equity duo Exponent and Intermediate Capital Group to swoop. The price was roughly the same as what Premier paid for the brands in 2005.
↑ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US). ISBN978-0-309-48834-1. PMID30844154.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
1 2 "Quorn linked to asthma attack". BBC News. London. 30 May 2003. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2011. The patient, a 41-year-old man with a long history of asthma, developed a severe skin reaction, including blistering, and suffered an asthma attack an hour after eating Quorn. Scientists carried out skin prick and food reaction tests and laboratory analysis to confirm what had provoked the allergic reaction. [...] On its Web site, the FSA currently states: "There have been some reports of intolerance to Quorn, but this is not surprising, because it has a high protein content (allergens are usually proteins).
↑ "FSA Stands by Quorn". Nutra Ingredients. 4 September 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
↑ USpatent 4555485,Robert A. Marsh,"Production of edible protein containing substances",issued 1985-11-26, assigned to Rank Hovis Mcdougall, Plc
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