Spruce needles can keep the vegoburger fresh and tasty

In the forests of the Baltic Sea region, tonnes of spruce needles quietly pile up as forestry by-products. Traditionally, they’ve been treated as waste or burned for low-value energy. 

But now these needles can be transformed into powerful natural ingredients for the next generation of plant-based meat.

”If you take a closer look, you’ll find they’re full of antioxidants, vitamins, and plant chemicals that can fight harmful bacteria, protect against spoilage, and even boost nutrition", says Alvija Salaseviciene, the Director of KTU Food Institute in Lituania.

From forest waste to food innovation

Within the SLU-led project CEForestry, the researchers of Kaunas University could isolate compounds known for their strong antimicrobial and antioxidant properties - shikimic acid, proanthocyanidins, and other polyphenols. 

The process starts in the lab. Spruce needles are carefully washed, dried, ground, and then treated using green extraction technologies—methods designed to keep the process eco-friendly. The leftover needles were put through solid-state fermentation with beneficial lactic acid bacteria. The result was two different spruce-based products:

• A concentrated extract full of natural antioxidants and antimicrobials.
• A fermented spruce powder with a milder taste and extra health-promoting properties.

To test the real-world potential, the team partnered with Bimala, a lituanian producer of plant-based meat. Spruce extracts were blended into a standard meat analogue recipe and tested in different amounts. 

The tasting panel was impressed

A tasting panel tried each version and the spruce-enhanced products didn’t just pass - they impressed:

• At 5% concentration, the chemical extract gave the plant-based meat a pleasant, slightly herbal flavour and improved texture. 
• The fermented extract at 1.5% added a subtle umami note while delivering natural preservation benefits.

Then came the challenge of storage. Could these natural additives really keep food safe for longer? Samples were vacuum-packed and stored at 3°C for seven weeks. The results were striking, no dangerous bacteria were detected in any spruce-treated samples during the entire storage period.

Challenging industial economy

However, an analyze from Aalto University conludes that many stages of extraction combined with low yields means that the technical and economic feasibility is assessed to be too challenging for industrial scale applications with business potential.

”We agree with Aalto University that, for now, the extraction of shikimic acid from spruce needles is not economically viable for industrial use, says Alvija Salaseviciene.

”At the same time, we would like to note that spruce needles contain not only shikimic acid but also other bioactivecompounds, which could be valuable from a nutritional point of view and may have potential for future applications.”