Sensory properties and consumer acceptance of plant-based meat, dairy, fish and eggs analogs: a systematic review

Introduction: Over the past years, several efforts have been made to formulate and develop plant-based substitutes of animal-based products in response to environmental changes, health issues and animal welfare. However, plant-based protein poses several challenges to product sensory characteristics, especially appearance, flavor, and texture. Despite this, current literature data have mainly reviewed nutritional, technological, and sustainability aspects of plant-based products with limited concerns on perceived sensory properties and perceptive barriers to consumption related to each specific substitute. To fill this literature gap, this systematic review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the perceptive determinants of consumers’ acceptance of plant-based substitutes of animal-origin products, including meat, dairy, fish and eggs analogs, with emphasis on product’s intrinsic properties: appearance, smell, taste, and texture. Moreover, age-, gender-, and cultural-related differences in the appreciation/rejection of plant-based substitutes of animal-origin products were investigated. Methods: The systematic analysis of the literature consulting Web of Science (Core Collection) and Scopus databases retrieved 13 research articles on meat, 26 on dairy, and two on fish and eggs analogs. Results and discussion: Results showed that all sensory dimensions are influenced by the replacement of animal proteins with those of vegetable origin. However, the relative importance of appearance, odor, taste, and texture varied according to plant-based analogs category and mitigatory processing strategies to mask unpleasant sensory properties have been suggested for each category. Dairy analogs mainly suffer of aromas and flavors imparted by the raw materials, while both meat and dairy analogs have texture challenges. Meat analogs lack of juiciness, elasticity and firmness, while dairy analogs require uniform, creamy and thick texture. Moreover, very few studies analyzed the product’s perception, considering age- and gender-related differences or cross-national/cultural differences. Future research should be addressed to specific product categories such as fish and eggs analogs as well as specific population targets including children and the elderly and consumers from developing countries.