First we had burgers made from cell-cultured meat, and now there’s protein powder gleaned from swine blood. As reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, food scientists have devised a way to produce a flavorless protein powder from pig’s blood, a byproduct of pork meat production, using enzymes from papaya fruit and a soil bacterium. At present, 5,000 metric tonnes of pure protein powder can be extracted from 60,000 tonnes of blood.
The hope is that this could be used in the food supply to help meet the protein needs of a growing global population and could perhaps be an easy way to help seniors take in more protein to stave off frailty. But as we have witnessed with cricket protein, we are probably a long way off from widespread acceptance of cereal spiked with pig’s blood protein, so, for the time being, most pork eaters will likely prefer their protein to come from chops.
See also: The REAL Scoop on Protein Powders
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.