| Cell-cultivated meat | Cultured meat platform developed through the structuring of edible microcarrier-derived microtissues with oleogel-based fat substitute | Plant-based fat replacer | - Darker color of raw cultured meat prototypes compared to raw beef was observed- Cooking resulted in further darkening attributed to the Maillard reaction | Adapted from Yen et al. (2023) with CC-BY. |
| Extracellular heme proteins influence bovine myosatellite cell proliferation and the color of cell-based meat | Heme protein | - An increase in pigment content of bovine satellite cells was noticed when cultured with heme proteins (i.e., Hb and Mb)- BSC grown with Mb showed the closest similarity to cooked beef | Adapted from Simsa et al. (2019) with CC-BY. |
| Decompartmentalization as a simple color manipulation of plant-based marbling meat alternatives | Decompartmentalization and jackfruit-based scaffold | - The color-changing behavior of the scaffold resembled meat-like browning- Polyphenol-based color was sensitive to pH change (i.e., pH 2 and 11). | Adapted from Ong et al. (2021) with permission of Elsevier. |
| Plant-based | Effect of xylose on rheological, printing, color, texture, and microstructure characteristics of 3D-printable colorant-containing meat analogs based on mung bean protein | Xylose and beet red | - Addition of approximately 0.5%–2% w/w beet root could mimic chicken, pork, and beef color- Xylose addition could affect the texture and color due to the Maillard reaction | Adapted from Wen et al. (2022) with permission of Elsevier. |
| Effect of whole tomato powder or tomato peel powder incorporation on the color, nutritional, and textural properties of extruded high-moisture meat analogues | Tomato powder and tomato peel powder | Color change in meat analogue containing 10% w/w tomato peel powder could resemble the color change in cooking real meat- Addition of whole tomato powder in meat analogues could resemble cured-meat products | Adapted from Lyu et al. (2023) with CC-BY. |
| Effects of Haematococcus pluvialis addition on the sensory properties of plant-based meat analogues | H. pluvialis | - Addition of less than 5% of H. pluvialis can improve the color of plant-based meat to beef-like red | Adapted from Liu et al. (2023) with CC-BY. |
| Structural and rheological properties of meat analogues from H. pluvialis residue-pea protein by high-moisture extrusion | H. pluvialis | - The addition of 10–40 g/100 g of H. pluvialis in meat analogue can induce coloration similar to dried red meat- Treatments with H. pluvialis also improved the texture after high-moisture extrusion | Xia et al. (2022) |
| Utilizing H. pluvialis to simulate animal meat color in high-moisture meat analogues: Texture quality and color stability | H. pluvialis | - Treatments with 1% or 0.25% H. pluvialis resembled raw beef loin and raw pork loin, respectively- Color loss was greater due to light exposure than to cooking and frozen storage | Adapted from Huang et al. (2024) with CC-BY. |
| Synergistic effects of laccase and pectin on the color changes and functional properties of meat analogues containing beet red pigment | Beet red, laccase, and sugar beet pectin | - The combination of laccase and pectin beet red-containing plant-based patties resulted in a similar grilled beef patty color- Laccase and sugar beet pectin can be utilized to improve the browning system of meat analogues containing beet red | Adapted from Sakai et al. (2022) with CC-BY. |
| Beetroot juices as colorant in plant-based minced meat analogues: Color, betalain composition, and antioxidant activity as affected by juice type | Beetroot juices | - Addition of cooked beet root juice in textured soy protein could mimic raw minced beef color- The combination of commercial beet juice and textured soy protein could resemble raw minced pork color | Adapted from Fernández-López et al. (2023) with CC-BY-NC-ND. |
| Application of ohmic cooking to produce a soy protein-based meat analogue | Ohmic cooking and beet red | - Higher ohmic cooking temperature induces brighter internal coloration of meat analogue | Jung et al. (2022) |
| Varying the amount of solid fat in animal fat mimetics for plant-based salami analogues influences texture, appearance, and sensory characteristics | Plant-based fat from canola, sal, and beetroot powder | - Addition of 25%–50% sal fat in meat analogue could mimic pork fat even after drying- Pasteurization induces a color change of the product from deep red to orange-red | Dreher et al. (2021) |
| Physicochemical properties of novel non-meat sausages containing natural colorants and preservatives | Lycopene, paprika oleoresin, and red yeast rice powder | - Superior sensory acceptance was observed for non-meat sausages containing paprika oleoresin (3 g/kg), red yeast rice (0.1 g/kg), and lycopene (0.32 g/kg) | Akramzadeh et al. (2018) |
| Development of plant-based burgers using gelled emulsions as fat source and beetroot juice as colorant: Effects on chemical, physicochemical, appearance, and sensory characteristics | Beetroot juice | - Plant-based burgers with fresh beet juice were more susceptible to color change during cooking compared to commercial beet juice | Adapted from Botella-Martínez et al. (2022) with CC-BY-NC-ND. |
| Synergistic effect of lactoferrin and red yeast rice on the quality characteristics of novel plant-based meat analog patties | Lactoferrin and red yeast rice powder | - Raw treatment patties were lighter with moderate CIE b* compared to raw beef patties | Adapted from Bakhsh et al. (2022) with CC-BY. |
| Applications of various natural pigments to a plant-based meat analogue | Beet red, Monascus red, paprika oleoresin, sorghum, and cacao | - The combination of cacao (1.1–1.3 mg/g) and red beet (0.4–1.5 mg/g) showed similar coloration to Hanwoo rib patty- Single colorant in meat analogue was insufficient in mimicking the control | Adapted from Ryu et al. (2023) CC-BY-NC-ND. |
| Characterization of plant-based meat alternatives blended with anthocyanins, chlorophyll, and various edible natural pigments | Paprika, Monascus, grape, cherry, red cabbage, and beet red | - Plant-based meat analogues with natural pigments showed lower CIE a* compared to conventional meat- Inconsistencies in the color coordinates of the treatments may be due to differences in the color of natural pigments, concentration, and substitution of plant-based protein | Adapted from Bakhsh et al. (2023) with CC-BY. |
| Optimizing the appearance of plant-based foods using color match theory | Turmeric, beet red, butterfly pea flower | - More than three pigments should be used to mimic animal-based products | Wannasin et al. (2023) |
| Mycoprotein | Meat substitute development from fungal protein (Aspergillus oryzae) | Beet extract and annatto | - Beet extract closely resembled real meat color- Annato showed higher saturation and CIE a* intensity, giving an artificial or unnatural appearance | Gamarra-Castillo et al. (2022) |
| Mushroom–legume-based minced meat: Physico-chemical and sensory properties | Beet root extract | - Beet root extract can enhance mushroom-based minced meat substitutes and achieve a high sensory acceptance at 0.2% (w/w) | Mazumder et al. (2023) |
| Mycoprotein as chicken meat substitute in nugget formulation: Physicochemical and sensorial characterization | Carrageenan | - The use of mycoprotein as chicken substitute increased the CIE a* of the product- The addition of carrageenan did not affect the CIE a* of the mycoprotein-based nuggets- White pepper, instead of black pepper, can be used to increase the CIE L* | Hashempour-Baltork et al. (2023) |