The algae spirulina has a wide range of health benefits. Now, a start-up is exploring its potential as a clean-label meat substitute, with flexibility in flavour and in use.
German food biotech start-up BLUU Seafood says it has secured the necessary capital to focus on the regulatory approval of its first products after raising EUR 16 million.
Plant-based meat company Heura has collaborated with schools across the Iberian peninsula to bring more plant-based meat to the diets of schoolchildren. Across 450 schools, it has introduced plant-based meat into school meals.
Nestlé’s Garden Gourmet brand sells meat imitations (think plant-based chorizo or vegan tuna) as well as more plant-forward or ‘vegetable-based’ offerings, such as broccoli patties. Marjolijn Niggebrugge, business head plant-based meal solutions Europe...
While the consumer market for plant-based meat does not completely consist of vegetarians and vegans, choosing a vegan burger over a meat one remains a conscious rejection of meat-eating. This provides plant-based meat with a meaning, its presence in...
The sought-after chicken fillets, drumsticks, and wings only account for around 50% of the bird. How can technology help valorise the other half for use by the food industry?
Our latest NPD Trend Tracker looks at a range of new fruit juices, healthy snacks and interesting beverages. From historic tea and ocean conservation-supporting wine to vegan protein powder and paper-packaged straws, scroll through the gallery for more....
The UK government’s emission reduction strategy is overlooking demand-side measures such as encouraging healthier, more sustainable diets, according to the UK's Climate Change Committee.
Dutch fermentation specialist Fooditive claims it has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of non-animal casein production at an industrial scale and is now hoping to collaborate with a ‘like-minded partners’ to navigate Novel Food approval in the...
A new project is harvesting broccoli stems, stalks, and leaves – which would otherwise be left in the field – and upcycling them into an alternative protein ingredient for food and beverage makers.
As alternative protein develops, brewer’s yeast is emerging as a strong driver of the market. Start-up ProteinDistillery has created a protein, developed from brewer’s yeast, that can not only be used for meat and dairy alternatives, but also to replace...
There was a notable failure in the US for ‘one of the world’s first next generation cheese alternatives’. But that shouldn’t detract from the potential benefits that precision fermentation technology can bring to the dairy alternatives category, FoodNavigator’s...
Israeli start-up More Foods, which makes ‘meaty’ products made from pumpkin seeds, is announcing a strategic collaboration with Osem-Nestlé Group subsidiary Tivol.
By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager
While much attention has been given to developing vegan alternative products, manufacturers are also turning towards 'blended' or 'hybrid' products that combine the advantages of animal-based and plant-based ingredients. But a more...
Meat substitutes, especially those aiming to mimic the real thing, can be 'ultra-processed' in nature and associated with e-numbers and additives. But some plant-based meat substitutes, such as newcomer Vegbloc - which aims to replace meat in...
How do upcycling innovators ensure they have abundant supply of side stream raw materials to develop new ingredients for the food and beverage industry?
Finnish start-up Solar Foods is marketing its novel microbial protein Solein for the first time. In partnership with Singapore-based restaurant Fico, the duo has developed a dessert made with ingredients ‘derived out of thin air’.
The two agriculturally important counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in the east of the UK are aiming to untap their ‘high potential opportunity’ in plant science for nutrition, FoodNavigator learns.
Does Meatless Farm’s decision to send employees home for good suggest a particularly challenging period for the plant-based meat sector? Are industry experts hopeful for the future of meat alternatives in the UK and further afield?
Soy is one of the main drivers of deforestation around the world. Forests are cut down every day to make way for the growth of soy crops. However, most of this soy, in fact almost 80%, is grown to feed not humans, but animals.
In the highly competitive, complex landscape manufacturers are now in, product acceptance is more than ever about the emotions a product generates, FoodNavigator hears.
French ingredients company Roquette has opened up a new food innovation centre, focusing on developing a wide range of foods with a small number of ingredients, prominently pea protein, wheat protein, polyols, soluble fibres and starches. FoodNavigator...
Uncommon, formerly called Higher Steaks, leverages RNA, the molecule that contains the chemical instructions that direct cells’ natural machinery into making a protein, to create cultivated bacon and pork belly from animal cells.
The cell bank initiative is being spearheaded by Extracellular, a CDMO concerned that cultivated meat research is being impeded by costly animal primary cells.
A major new innovation project led by the University of Copenhagen will convert nutrients and CO2 from shrimp and fish farming into seaweed for the food sector.
Some products, such as croissants, need a bit of butter to get their unique texture. Israeli startup Gaven Technologies hopes to provide a vegan replacement of butter and other animal fats in bakery products, with its new plant-based fat FaTRIX.
Mycoprotein and fungal proteins take up less land than animal farming, and can be used to aid in regenerative agriculture, explains mycoprotein major Quorn - perhaps the best-known manufacturer of mycoprotein-based meat substitutes.
Plant-based milk is one of the most successful categories of alternative protein, predicted to reach a value of $47 Billion by 2030. But why is it so successful? The driving force behind any alternative protein’s success is the motives people have for...
A new alternative protein made from brewer’s spent yeast has scaled up and will now transition to full production. The protein, which is made by the EGGcited consortium and coordinated by NIZO, can act as a substitute for egg and dairy, and can replace...
The company says its plant-based butter is already as good as its conventional counterpart, and plans to close any taste and texture gaps in dairy-free creams and cheeses within the next three years.
A ‘ground-breaking’ £1 million project has been announced in the UK, which aims to both produce peas that are tasteless but retain nutritional value and have a significant impact on reducing the need for UK imports of soya.
Traditionally, eating meat has been considered a cornerstone of masculinity, especially for professional male athletes. A recent small study, however, suggests that attitudes towards plant-based diets are changing among athletes.
In working to improve the taste of plant-based seafood alternatives, Dutch start-up Upstream Foods is cultivating fat from salmon cells for the B2B market.
As ProVeg International, a group wanting to replace animal consumption with alternative protein by 50% by 2040, opens an office in Nigeria – where most people already follow a plant rich diet, and where greenhouse gas emissions are low compared to developed...
Research suggests when it comes to buying sustainable products, an ‘intention-action gap’ exists amongst consumers. Which ‘nudging’ approaches can brands and retailers take to encourage more sustainable consumption?
Henry Dimbleby is bleak in his stinging assessment of the food system’s current ills, namely diet-related disease and environmental destruction, which are damaging both our dietary and planet’s health. But we can look to the past for solutions, he says,...
With the global dairy alternatives market projected to reach over $61bn by 2029, what started as a niche offering is now commonplace in household fridges. Innovators are leaning into new product formats and category expansion to grow alt dairy, so what’s...
In the food industry’s search for alternative protein sources, upcycled ingredients are becoming more useful and more popular. But it is often with difficulty that they are developed – upcycling products into edible and palatable foods often requires...
Edible insects have many benefits. They are a good source of alternative protein, a rival to plant-based meat; they are often considered more sustainable than conventional meat; some insects are even higher in protein than beef. However, many consumers...
Consumer turnover of Parmigiano Reggiano recently hit an all-time high of €2.9bn. What is it about this famed cheese that makes it unique? And as a premium product, what systems do producers put in place to protect against potential food fraud? FoodNavigator...
