Engineered foods

Engineered foods are products that are manufactured from ingredients in such a way as to resemble another product in taste, texture, and appearance. Engineered foods are desirable to populations who cannot or will not consume a particular product, for example, the meat analogs designed to replace animal protein for vegetarians. Engineered foods can also be designed to have a higher nutritive quality than the product they replaced. Meat analogs are usually lower in fat, are cholesterol free, and can be fortified with B vitamins to make them similar to meat as a nutrient source. Engineered foods can be convenient and economical, as in the case of seafood analogs. Instead of crab meat, which may be unavailable in certain regions or seasons, seafood analogs composed of fish, soy protein, and natural flavorings can be substituted. The analog product is typically less expensive as well.