AI Beefs Up Veggie Burgers As Market Booms

Have a beef with beef? A burgeoning veggie burger industry is using artificial intelligence to propose alternatives. Swiss group Firmenich, one of the world's leading flavour manufacturers, says recreating the sensation of beef relies not only on flavour, texture and colour, but also on how it responds to cooking and the way it feels in the mouth. "Finding a protein that resembles meat from a vegetable protein is highly complex," Emmanuel Butstraen, head of Firmenich's flavours unit, told AFP at the company's headquarters in Satigny outside Geneva. One of the toughest challenges is avoiding an unpleasant aftertaste.