For years, the knock against plant-based burgers was simple: they looked the part, but fell short on taste. Texture and appearance kept improving, yet flavor stayed a step behind, and flavor is what decides whether someone orders the same thing twice. A new patent application from Belgian precision-fermentation company Paleo takes direct aim at that gap, and it does so by borrowing two of the things that make real meat taste like real meat: myoglobin and fat.
Two ingredients doing the work of a whole cow
Meat gets much of its flavor from what happens when it hits heat. Myoglobin, the iron-rich protein that gives raw meat its red color, feeds the Maillard reaction, the browning chemistry that produces roasted, savory aromas when you grill. Fat carries and releases its own set of flavor compounds as it warms. Paleo's filing (EP4767832A1) describes a method that adds both to an animal-free base at controlled levels, so the two work together rather than separately.
The method calls for a myoglobin composition of at least 5% myoglobin by dry weight, blended in so the finished product carries at least 0.05%, roughly the range you find in animal muscle. The fat composition runs at least 80% fat, tuned to a saturated-fat ratio that mirrors animal fat. When the burger cooks, the filing describes new aldehydes, ketones, pyrazines, and thiazoles forming, the same families of compounds behind that grilled-meat smell. The myoglobin can be produced through fermentation, which keeps the whole approach animal-free.
A company built around one protein
Paleo has spent its existence on this single idea: brew animal proteins with yeast instead of raising livestock. Founded in 2020 in Belgium, the company produces species-specific myoglobins for beef, chicken, pork, lamb, tuna, and even mammoth. This application fits squarely into that mission, moving from making the ingredient toward defining exactly how to use it for the fullest cooked-meat flavor.
Congratulations and a warm thank you to the inventors: Hermes Sanctorum, Pierre Donck, Elsa Lauwers, Achim Treumann, and Linda Isabel Paz, for their work bringing plant-based meat closer to the real experience.
About the Author
I’m Kandice Vincent, a writer and editor covering cellular agriculture, food tech, and the future of how we produce and consume food. I work closely with founders, researchers, and mission-driven companies to turn complex science into something people can actually understand. I care deeply about where food is headed, how we get there, and who’s shaping that future. Based in Mexico, I’m usually writing with my rescue dog Taco nearby, who remains unimpressed by patents but highly invested in mealtimes.
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This article is based on publicly available information. Lab Grown Technologies is not affiliated with the inventors or organizations mentioned.
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