Stanford Engineers Develop 3D Texture Tests to Make Plant-Based Meat with “Precisely Desired” Properties
Stanford University engineers have developed a new AI model for food texture testing to improve the sensory experience of plant-based meat and encourage wider acceptance, especially among meat lovers. The researchers say the method could accelerate the development of appealing vegan alternatives by replacing trial-and-error approaches with a systematic, data-driven strategy that can tailor specific features to match consumer expectations. “Instead of using a trial-and-error approach to improve the texture of plant-based meat, we could envision using generative artificial intelligence to scientifically generate recipes for plant-based meat products with precisely desired properties,” the authors state. Testing the “mechanical signature” In the study published in Science of Food, the researchers show how they used a combination of mechanical testing and machine learning to measure and replicate …