Meat, fish and savoury ingredients

Plant-based products that attempt to mimic the nutritional qualities of meat and dairy are ‘playing a losing game’

01-May-2023 By Oliver Morrison

It’s time plant-based manufacturers stop talking about the healthy nutrients that plants don’t have and focus on those they do have, says influential Wageningen food scientist Atze Jan van der Goot.

Consumers don’t know what ‘ultra-processed’ food is, but know they don’t want it

27-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

Fresh research suggests consumers struggle to distinguish between ultra-processed and other processed foods, but want to cut back on both. Is a lack of trust at play?

Heura unveils new tech for additive-free, high-protein plant-based food

25-Apr-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Plant-based company Heura, known for its meatless chorizo sausages, chorizo burgers, and chicken, has unveiled new technology to create high-protein plant-based meat, free of e-numbers.

Meat, eggs and milk play ‘vital’ role in meeting global nutrition targets: FAO

25-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

Globally, the consumption of animal source foods including meat, eggs and milk can help to reduce stunting, wasting and overweight amongst children, according to a new UN report.

Meat alternatives made from plants or mycoprotein can lower ‘bad’ cholesterol, finds research

24-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

Swapping out meat with plant-based alternatives is likely to benefit cholesterol levels, and over a two-year period, could reduce the risk of developing heart disease by a quarter, say researchers.

'We have to focus on growing the category': Behind Quorn parent company's move to make its mycoprotein available to others

18-Apr-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Marlow Foods has unveiled plans to supply the protein in Quorn, mycoprotein, to other food and beverage manufacturers.

Aleph Farms prepares for initial product launch: the ‘world’s first’ cultivated steak

18-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

In preparation for the launch of its cultivated steak product, Aleph Farms has developed its first product brand: Aleph Cuts.

Blending meat with alt protein: Does the hybrid category have a future?

17-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

An overwhelming majority of delegates at FoodNavigator’s recent Positive Nutrition Summit see potential in the ‘hybrid’ category, but meat-free innovators are not convinced.

UK government invests £12m in sustainable protein hub

14-Apr-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

The UK government has invested £12m (€13.57) in a new research centre to grow sustainable protein and cultivated meat. This will be the largest investment yet made by the government in sustainable proteins.

‘What is naturalness?’ The future of plant-based food

12-Apr-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Plant-based is one of the most important trends in the food industry today. Meat- and dairy-free products are helping provide food alternatives to an ever-growing flexitarian market. But some questions still remain. For one, since many plant-based foods...

EC urged to adopt strict measures on nitrosamines after latest EFSA health concerns

06-Apr-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Experts are once again calling for a ban on nitrosamines after consumer exposure to the compounds that can form in food during its preparation and processing raised a health concern from the European Food Safety Authority.

Hybrid alt cheese made with dairy, faba and mealworms ‘similar or superior’ to the real thing

05-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

Could a hybrid cheese analogue – which swaps out some dairy for faba protein and mealworm flour – improve nutrition and sensory properties? Researchers investigate.

‘We’re tackling challenging categories head on’: Behind Nomad Foods’ reformulation strategy

04-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

The vast majority of Nomad Foods’ net sales come from ‘healthy’ meal choices. But not all. From ‘health through stealth’ through to pizza reformulation, group nutrition leader Lauren Woodley reveals why incoming HFSS regulations presents an opportunity...

Anti-innovation and consumer choice? Italy moves to ban lab-grown meat, cheese and fish

03-Apr-2023 By Oliver Morrison

First it was Nutri-Score. Now Italy is waging war on lab-grown food to preserve its famous gastronomic heritage.

EAT-Lancet diet: Increased intake of animal source foods recommended by researchers to fill micronutrient gap

31-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

Fresh research suggests the planetary health diet does not provide enough vitamins and minerals – including iron, zinc, calcium and vitamin B12 – to nourish the global population due to its low amount of animal source foods.

Cheese shop pulls products from shelves after Listeria outbreak

24-Mar-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

On 20 March, Wiltshire-based cheese shop the Old Cheese Room announced that they were recalling a selection of their products following a Listeria outbreak. Several other Listeria outbreaks have also taken place in the UK and Europe over the past year,...

Global livestock sector in urgent need of standardised measurement system for GHG data

23-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

A new whitepaper from EIT Food outlines critical need for standardised tools and metrics to support the ruminant livestock sector in the UK and Ireland to reach Net Zero.

Unnecessarily cruel or a necessary solution? The octopus farming debate rages

17-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The world’s first commercial octopus farm is continuing to cause controversy.

Paleo players celebrate ‘ground-breaking’ research

09-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The paleo diet tops the rankings of a systematic review of dietary patterns and NCD risk factors, followed by DASH and Mediterranean diets, with the Western diet bringing up the rear.

Mosa Meat, Nutreco replace pharma-grade ingredients in cell feed with food-grade alternatives

07-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

Mosa Meat and one of its investors, Nutreco, have replaced 99.2% of the pharma-grade ingredients in basal media with food-grade alternatives.

No more ‘vegan mortadella’? Why ‘meaty’ names for plant-based could get the chop in Italy

07-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

A bill introduced to the Italian Parliament is seeking to prevent plant-based meat alternatives from using ‘meaty’ names. Would such a ban finally put an end to ‘marketing bias’, or instead ‘derail plans for a sustainable food system’?

Embracing ugly veg and the ugly side of poultry production to make more profitable and sustainable products

01-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

A Danish food tech start-up is leveraging two very different food industry side streams – spent laying hens, and mushrooms rejected by supermarkets – to launch fermented organic flavour enhancers.

Bioreactors for meat: Ever After Foods ‘overcomes scaling challenge’ for cultivated meat players

01-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

Plurinuva has rebranded as Ever After Foods to launch its patented bioreactor platform for cultivated meat production. The new tech can increase productivity by more than 700%, CEO Eyal Rosenthal tells FoodNavigator.

From kosher shellfish to ‘enabling’ ingredients: What is Israel looking for in food tech?

21-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

In Israel, interest in food tech ranges from alternative proteins to food waste, vertical farming to delivery robots. Which areas have ecosystem majors pinpointed as particularly strong growth opportunities?

Dissecting cultivated meat regulation part 2: What’s working in the US and Singapore, and what’s not?

16-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

Both the US and Singapore have seen cultivated meat products pass through their regulatory processes, yet the two governments approach novel foods in different ways. Which challenges and opportunities exist within these regulatory frameworks, and what...

'These products will only take a significant portion of the global market when they can compete with conventional meat on taste, price, and convenience': alt protein sector looks for solutions amid mixed investment figures

16-Feb-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Alt protein advocates are calling for governments to ‘step up’ to build a ‘more sustainable food system’ after data showed that global investment in sustainable proteins decelerated last year and sales of meat alternatives dipped in some countries.

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls in first month under Lula

13-Feb-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Deforestation in Brazil’s section of the Amazon rainforest dropped by 61 percent in January, the first month in office for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has promised to relaunch environmental protection efforts.

Pork and microalgae cells combined in cultivated meat an ‘industry first’

10-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

Czech start-up Mewery claims to have developed the first prototype of cultivated meat based on microalgae. The company is already in talks with the Singapore Food Agency, founder Roman Lauš tells FoodNavigator.

Dissecting cultivated meat regulation part 1: What’s working in Europe and Israel, and what’s not?

08-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

Achieving pre-market authorisation to put cultivated meat on people’s plates is no easy feat. With different geographies handling the regulatory process in their own unique ways, we dissect how it works in the EU and Israel, and ask how these systems...

How did PFAS contaminate the organic egg supply chain? Feed suppliers weigh in

06-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

It has been suggested the so-called forever chemicals identified in Danish organic eggs originated from fishmeal, which is used as an ingredient in chicken feed. Suppliers are taking the issue ‘very seriously’, FoodNavigator understands.

Research suggests ‘direct association’ between nitrites from food additives and diabetes risk

06-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

Not only has a link been suggested between the consumption of additives-originated nitrites and increased diabetes risk, but researchers have found no potential benefits for dietary nitrites.

Behind the 'world’s first 100% cultivated pork steak'

03-Feb-2023 By Oliver Morrison

UK scientists have made headlines after claiming to make the world’s first 100% cultivated pork steak.

Europe ‘lagging’ in lab-grown meat investments

30-Jan-2023 By Oliver Morrison

A new report reveals the countries poised to seize the world’s lab-grown meat market, based on investment raised, amid warnings that countries in Europe risk missing out on profitable and sustainable opportunity.

GUEST ARTICLE

Industry Insights from NIZO: Using and optimising membrane filtration for extracting plant proteins

26-Jan-2023 By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager

Membrane filtration has proven itself as a protein extraction technology in the dairy industry, attracting attention from players across the plant protein field. The technology offers clear benefits...but what are its challenges?

Beneo takes ‘next step’ in plant-based protein strategy with start-up investment

23-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

Following on from Beneo’s investment in Meatless, the functional ingredients supplier has taken the ‘next step’ in its plant-based protein strategy with a 14% stake in hybrid vegetarian and vegan brand Grillido.

Why the first mass-produced cultured meat product won't be food

19-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

While in the long-term, Czech start-up Bene Meat Technologies plans to develop a cell-based steak product for human consumption, its short-term focus has pivoted to cultured pet food, CEO Roman Kříž tells FoodNavigator.

The new hybrid? Blending plant-based proteins with fish by-products, algae, and insect larvae

18-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

A research project funded by the Research Council of Norway is leveraging high moisture extrusion technology to develop novel hybrid products.

As meat-reduction trend ‘levels off’, industry backs plant-based innovation to propel category

18-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

From perceptions of over-processing to the potential slowing of meat reduction across multiple geographies, the plant-based sector faces challenges. Innovation, ingredients majors tell FoodNavigator, is required to propel the category forward.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Aqua Cultured Foods begins buildout on fungi-based alt seafood factory

17-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

The maker of mycoprotein-based seafood alternatives has begun buildout of a new facility in the US, from where it will produce products for the European market.

‘World’s first’ growth media factory in the works for cultivated meat, milk

16-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

Multus Biotechnology’s ‘first-of-its kind’ facility will open its doors before the end of the year. We catch up with co-founder and CEO Cai Linton to ask: Why should industry outsource growth media, rather than develop it in-house?

Researchers develop food waste-based scaffolds that could make cell-based meat cheaper

13-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

A 3D-printing ink made from cereal waste has been developed to make edible scaffolds to support cultivated meat matrices.

How an Israeli start-up developed fish-free tinned tuna with the ‘complete sensory experience’ of taste, texture and smell

11-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

In Israel, Vgarden Ltd. has developed what it claims is ‘game-changing’ vegan tinned tuna. Omer Eliav, chief of R&D and Vgarden co-founder runs us though the most challenging aspects of replicating the kitchen staple, fish-free.

Consumer perceptions: How does cell-based meat compare to plant-based, insects, and meat itself?

10-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

What do Dutch consumers think about cultured meat compared to its conventional counterpart, fish, insects, and plant-based meat alternatives? Researchers investigate.

Blending meat and mycoprotein: New hybrid products prepare to enter European market

10-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

Swedish mycoprotein start-up Mycorena is working to accelerate the hybrid meat category through a collaboration with meat manufacturer Nybergs Deli and supermarket retailer ICA.

Protein quality evaluation ‘halves’ environment impact of meat and dairy

06-Jan-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The environmental impact of beef and dairy is halved by a new assessment method that calculates a food’s protein quality, say scientists at Rothamsted Research.

‘It’s a full-blown meat experience’: Hungarian plant-based start-up eyes European frozen food market

05-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

Vegan start-up Plant Revolt is already on the market in its native Hungary and has plans to rapidly expand across the bloc.

Behind Kraft Heinz’s plant-based category push: ‘We’re liberating the Beanz from the can’

04-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

From meatless burgers to Beanz Bowls and pasta sauces, The Kraft Heinz Company is entering multiple new categories with an expanded plant-based portfolio. Cristina Kenz, Chief Growth & Sustainability Officer, International, Kraft Heinz, explains why...

Alt protein innovation in eastern Europe: Meet the new start-ups mimicking meat and seafood with fungi, plants

03-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

From Ukraine to neighbouring Romania and north-eastern Lithuania, interest in alternative proteins is on the up. Meet three new start-ups developing animal-free whole cuts, mycoprotein ingredients, and plant-based sashimi.

From ‘potentially’ dangerous horse meat to illegal alt plastic: EU intercepts food fraud

13-Dec-2022 By Flora Southey

The European Union recently acted against two major cases of food fraud: food contact materials containing bamboo powder, and half a tonne of horse meat unfit for consumption.

MycoTechnology teams up with IFF in Europe, with Novel Foods nod expected ‘any day now’

12-Dec-2022 By Flora Southey

Mycelia-focused MycoTechnology has teamed up with ingredients supplier IFF to expand its reach to Europe, all the while Novel Foods approval for its FermentIQ protein is imminent, Lisa Wetstone, Director, Innovation & Growth Strategy, tells FoodNavigator....