Hydrosol is meeting the rising demand for meat-free alternatives with new all-in compounds for the manufacture of vegetarian and vegan cold cuts, and alternatives to hot boiled sausages.

The compounds contain all the components necessary for the formulation, including mild seasoning that can be enhanced as desired.

"Our new HydroTOP series all-in compounds consist of various hydrocolloids and vegetable proteins. For vegan cold cuts we use soy and pea protein, while the vegetarian versions contain pea and egg protein," explains product developer, Carsten Carstens, of Hydrosols meat product R&D. "The stabilising systems contain no gluten, milk protein or phosphates. The seasoning is completely free of glutamate. For the colouring agent we use an alternative to natural cochineal, since that is harvested from scale insects and so is an animal product, strictly speaking."