00:00Popcorn chicken with no chicken?
00:02Beef rendang with no beef?
00:04We have arrived in the future.
00:08At SG Protein, we are specialised in plant-based meat manufacturing.
00:12We want to ensure that all the population have access to yummy, healthy proteins
00:17that are good for them and also the environment and for animal welfare.
00:21In this series, we'll explore how innovative technologies and local initiatives
00:26are rethinking the way we produce and consume food.
00:31Welcome to Future Food, where we explore the food production of tomorrow.
00:38Now housed in this unassuming building
00:41is a company that's transforming the food industry.
00:44Let's go meet them.
00:51Hi, Dominique.
00:52My name is Yulin.
00:53Thanks so much for having us here today to share more about SG Protein.
00:57Hi, Yulin. Thank you very much for coming.
00:58It's a great pleasure.
00:59So can you tell us more about what SG Protein does?
01:02SG Protein is a manufacturer for plant-based meat.
01:05We aspire to become the biggest plant-based meat manufacturer in Asia.
01:09Today, one big source of protein is meat from animals.
01:14The positive side there is it gains so much efficiency
01:17that more people have access to proteins.
01:20So can you talk me through the industrialisation process of SG Protein?
01:24Today, companies, food manufacturers, for example,
01:26they don't develop their own slaughterhouses
01:30to get chicken meat or get animal proteins in.
01:34So they buy that as a wholesaler.
01:35And that's what we position ourselves as well.
01:38So we can manufacture as a wholesaler for food brands
01:41that they can use our product and then sell it under their name.
01:45We supply to the industry where they can actually use it
01:51in formats when they want to do dumplings, when they want to do ready meals.
01:55And we work also with companies which are already quite established.
01:59We say we want somebody to produce it according to our recipe.
02:03Do you want to come down to our office and to our factory
02:06to actually have a real-life experience how such a facility looks like?
02:11Yes, I would love to.
02:13Let's go down. Let's go.
02:17Hi, my name is Yulin. Nice to meet you.
02:20Nice to meet you.
02:21This is the dipping station.
02:23That's where we do dipping powders into the machines.
02:27Let me show you how it works.
02:33Ah! What's that?
02:35What's the loud sound?
02:36That's from the vat that is opening.
02:38Ah, okay.
02:40So it will sieve away all the big particles like magnets, plastics and papers.
02:47The small metals will be attracted by the magnetics below.
02:50So after dipping, we will transfer to the hopper on top.
02:54So the vat will open and the powder will transfer to this speed mixer.
02:59So it mixes all the powders together.
03:01Okay.
03:02And then it will transfer to the hopper at the other side.
03:05So let me show you the semi-dry production.
03:08Alright, let's go.
03:09So I will transfer the powder to this hopper on top.
03:14So we are loading the powder into the micro-doser.
03:19This is the alarm trigger telling you that the powder is filling up.
03:24Okay!
03:25So this will be the pre-conditioner.
03:28It will transfer the powder and mix it with the water.
03:33Just like kneading dough at home.
03:36So it just makes the powder wet.
03:39And then it will push out to this extruder.
03:42So the extruder will add water and cook the product.
03:46Cook?
03:47Yes, cook the product.
03:48So this is hot?
03:49Yes, very hot.
03:50So you don't touch it.
03:52This is like 180 degrees.
03:55Yeah, so you all need to be careful.
03:57So this will mix and cook.
03:59So it will give more layers and texture.
04:03Then the finished product will push it throughout the extruder to this cooling die.
04:09This thing is about 70 degrees.
04:12So it will cool down the product to 70 degrees.
04:15Ah, I see.
04:17No wonder it's so hot in this room.
04:18Yes, correct.
04:20I thought it was me.
04:22Or maybe him.
04:26So here we go, it starts.
04:29Ooh, I smell tofu smell.
04:32So this product is not ready.
04:35Oh, okay.
04:36Because this is the stuck phase, so it has less solid content.
04:40So when it's ready, it's more firm.
04:43Ah, okay.
04:44It will change to a darker colour.
04:47This one is like beef.
04:49Beef?
04:50Yes.
04:51So you all can make steak?
04:53Uh, yes.
04:54There's a pressure bar.
04:56So when we reach about 20 pressure bar, then we can start to take, yes.
05:04Okay, we can take.
05:07So we get ready the conveyor belt.
05:10So they are testing for the texture and the density of the meat substitute or protein substitute.
05:19As you can see, he was using his glove to feel the texture of it.
05:22It's starting to look and feel like meat.
05:30It looks like Christmas ham.
05:33Now I wonder how they're going to flavour it to make it taste like roast beef.
05:39Oh, dang.
05:41Looks like meat, y'all.
05:44Whoa, look at that, look at that.
05:48So Michael, can you tell me more about what's happening right now?
05:52So now we are doing individual quick phase with toilet IQF.
05:57This process will be very cold.
05:59It's negative 45 degrees Celsius.
06:02Is it like, would you get instantly frozen if you go in?
06:05Like, can you survive standing in there for a couple of seconds?
06:07Or is it like petrified?
06:09I don't think we can.
06:11Oh, it's like literally if you go in, you're dead?
06:13Your shoe will be frozen.
06:15Immediately?
06:16Yes, immediately.
06:17Wow.
06:18So it took about 20 minutes to freeze the product.
06:22So this is our final product.
06:25This is beef chunk.
06:27Then we can make beef rendang.
06:28And this is the chicken chunk.
06:31We can make...
06:32Chicken nuggets.
06:34And popcorn chicken.
06:37Yeah.
06:38Well, I can't wait to taste these products.
06:40Are we actually going to do some cooking?
06:42Yes.
06:43And now for my favourite part of the episode, the taste test.
06:47I have Dominic back here with us to talk us through the different dishes.
06:50As I mentioned, for us, plant-based meat is important that it's not only burgers.
06:55So we have a variety of dishes.
06:57These are excellent examples where customers of ours who do dumplings,
07:03who do buns, who do songsay,
07:05were able to actually make a vegetarian type out of it.
07:09Okay, what shall we try?
07:10Let's go, you know, the easy one first, the popcorn chicken.
07:15Okay.
07:17Actually does taste like popcorn chicken.
07:21I think I can be a vegetarian or vegan.
07:24It's really nice.
07:25So do you cook these dishes at home as well?
07:27We use that all the time to cook at home, exactly.
07:32With chunks, with egglets.
07:35We can actually just use it in our normal dishes
07:37without changing the eating habits.
07:41I mean, it's not going to taste 100% like, you know, the beef rendang,
07:43but actually it feels like a good substitute.
07:46Like I would eat this.
07:48Do you like beef rendang?
07:49I like it very much.
07:53I used to live in Indonesia, so I eat a lot of rendangs.
07:57There's a lot of different rendangs.
07:59And since I can do it now in plant-based, I'm very happy about that.
08:03It's amazing.
08:04Okay, I'm going to go for this.
08:06Meatless meat dumpling.
08:10I've never had that myself.
08:13It tastes a bit Sichuan in its flavouring,
08:17but it tastes like the actual dumpling.
08:20Minced meat, cool.
08:22All right, let's go for...
08:24Normal dumplings, and these are more like buns.
08:26Ah, okay.
08:28Wherever you go for dumplings, you have a lot of different proteins in it.
08:31And usually, if you take a vegetarian dumpling,
08:35you miss out on the proteins.
08:36So being able to have a plant-based protein in it,
08:40it's also healthier for you and gives you essentials.
08:46Really, the point is, it should be in our everyday dishes.
08:50Because then, we have an impact with plant-based proteins.
08:53Especially here in Asia, it's interesting when we can have it in dishes like a rendang.
08:58In Asia, we actually have a tradition of mock meats.
09:02And I was just wondering, what's the difference between mock meat and plant-based protein?
09:07It's actually a very good question.
09:09And when you look at traditional mock meat,
09:12it actually fills your body, but it fills it with a lot of empty calories.
09:16There's not much protein in it.
09:18And for us, it was always important that when we take away an animal protein,
09:22we have to replace it also with the same nutritional values.
09:25The main protein we use is the soy protein.
09:29So with the soy protein, it's actually one of the best plant proteins for our body to absorb.
09:36It's a very good ratio that our proteins can absorb.
09:40However, we also do R&D with other plant proteins such as fava beans,
09:46pea proteins, in order to have a balanced amino acid profile.
09:51Wow, sounds really healthy.
09:53Yeah, amazing.
09:54Thanks so much for having me here today and allowing me to try all these wonderful dishes.
09:58And yeah, I hope to see SG Protein produce more and more options for us in the future.
10:04Thank you very much for coming.
10:05It was a pleasure to show you around.
10:07Oh, thank you.
10:09To learn more about the nutrition of alternative proteins,
10:12I speak to Jillian, a dietician from Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
10:16So the first question is, could you give me an overview of the evolution of plant-based foods?
10:22Yeah, sure.
10:23So plant-based foods have been around for a long time.
10:26There's been growing interest over the years for several reasons,
10:29one of which is we know that plant-based diets are strongly associated with a lot of health benefits.
10:35There are also environmental concerns with agriculture, growing livestock,
10:39as far as water usage goes, land usage, greenhouse gas emissions as well.
10:44And there's also growing interest about preventing animal cruelty,
10:48which is mostly revolving around livestock.
10:50From the beginning of time, we've always had plant-based proteins,
10:53such as tofu, soybeans, lentils, nuts as well.
10:57But over the years, we've kind of seen some new things coming up.
11:00For example, cultivated meat or lab-grown meat from stem cells.
11:03We've also seen an increasing amount of plant-based meat alternatives in the market,
11:08mainly in the form of plant-based meat patties or plant-based nuggets.
11:12Whereas let's say if you went for a traditional piece of chicken thigh without the skin and you trim off the fat,
11:17that's going to be leaner, so you get the same amount of protein,
11:19but you're receiving that with less sodium and less fat.
11:23I see, and the reason for these additives in meat alternatives
11:27is because they kind of lack the natural flavour that you would find in traditional meat.
11:31Generally so, yes.
11:33So with plant-based meat alternatives, usually they have to add a lot of additional things
11:38to achieve the same kind of mouthfeel and consistency that regular meat and poultry may have.
11:45Thank you for joining us today,
11:47where we witnessed SG Protein's commitment to innovation, quality and sustainability.
11:52In the next episode, we'll see how Singapore's food plant is helping businesses
11:57to innovate, pilot and upscale food production.
12:00See you next time!
12:02So she said she wants to dance and hold a spade, so...
12:09It's too hot.
12:11Too hot?
12:12Well, I apologise.
12:14Are you free tonight? Maybe you can cook me something?
12:32I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:34I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:36I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:38I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:40I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:42I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:44I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:46I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:48I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:50I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:52I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:54I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:56I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:58I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
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