Proteins

Wheat yields boosted and protein content increased by up to 25%: study

13-May-2022 By Flora Southey

Researchers working to identify genes that control the development of bread wheat ‘spikelets’ have unexpectedly discovered a potential way to increase protein content by up to 25%.

Arla Food Ingredients gets ESFA safety nod for novel Bovine Milk Osteopontin ingredient

12-May-2022 By Katy Askew

Arla Foods Ingredients has secured Novel Food approval for Lacprodan OPN-10, an ingredient derived from Bovine Milk Osteopontin (OPN).

‘Food oasis in the desert’: Locally grown dates fuel production of mushroom protein in Oman

05-May-2022 By Flora Southey

Alt protein supplier MycoTechnology has teamed up with Oman Investment Authority to produce mushroom protein in the desert.

Tate & Lyle expands in chickpea protein with Nutriati acquisition: 'Pulse proteins across the globe are seeing record growth'

05-May-2022 By Katy Askew

Tate & Lyle is expanding in the plant-based protein arena with a deal to acquire chickpea protein and flour supplier Nutriati. The global ingredients company best known for sweeteners and texturisers tells FoodNavigator the deal will boost its portfolio...

Austrian start-up plans dairy disruption via precision fermentation-derived cheeses

05-May-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Vienna’s Fermify claims its digitised production platform delivers casein proteins with the same superior functional properties and nutritional profile of real cheese and allows producers to produce cow-free cheese at scale.

Beef-like fat prototype produced via precision fermentation: ‘It’s a ground-breaking step towards making plant-based meat tastier’

05-May-2022 By Flora Southey

Sweden-based Melt&Marble has developed a precision fermentation-derived beef fat alternative. FoodNavigator asks co-founder and CEO Dr Anastasia Krivoruchko how the technology differs from that used to make other cell-cultured fats and precision fermentation-derived...

Promoting plant-based: What motivates people to eat less meat?

02-May-2022 By Katy Askew

Environmental concerns don’t motivate consumers to replace meat products with plant-based alternatives, new research suggests. So, what does prompt people to make the swap? And how can the food industry tap into this to support growth in the plant-based...

The tech behind ‘single-ingredient’ smoked salmon analogue revealed: ‘Our spirulina can act as a complete replacement for animal-based protein’

28-Apr-2022 By Katy Askew

An Israeli food tech company has developed a proprietary process leveraging spirulina to mimic ‘virtually any type of fish and animal tissue’. It’s first product: a ‘single-ingredient’ smoked salmon analogue. FoodNavigator catches up with co-founder and...

‘Nobody is making chorizo burgers’: Heura looks beyond sausages, mince, and ‘most sold’ products on the market

28-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

Barcelona-headquartered Heura is collaborating with UK food influencers BOSH! on a new plant-based offering for flexitarian consumers: a chorizo burger. Heura co-founder Bernat Añaños tells us why.

Beneo builds new pulse-processing plant for ‘rising star’ ingredient faba bean

27-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

The ingredients supplier is investing €50m in the new facility to make protein concentrate, starch rich flour and hulls from faba beans – a crops that comes with ‘convincing sustainable credentials’, Beneo’s Christoph Boettger tells FoodNavigator.

Positive EFSA feedback for Arla Foods’s novel ingredient BLG

27-Apr-2022 By Nicola Gordon-Seymour

Arla Foods Ingredients has received a favourable response from the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) for Lacprodan beta-lactoglobulin (BLG)-100 as a novel food (NF) in a variety of applications.

Remilk to build the world’s largest precision fermentation site in Europe

26-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

Animal-free dairy start-up Remilk has announced plans to build its first fully-owned facility, and the largest of its kind in the world, in Denmark.

‘There’s never been enough human milk in the world…until now’: Meet the cell-cultured start-up ‘humanizing’ bovine formula

25-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

Pure Mammary Factors is leveraging cellular agriculture to ‘humanize’ the infant nutrition sector. FoodNavigator hears how.

An ‘underrated superfood’? Meet the Estonian start-up tapping hemp for ‘vegan meat’

21-Apr-2022 By Katy Askew

The Naturist is leveraging hemp to create what it describes as the ‘ultimate formula’ for its sustainable, protein-rich ‘vegan meat’, Crump. FoodNavigator caught up with innovators at the Estonian start-up to learn more about the benefits this ‘underrated...

‘This is no longer moonshot technology’: Swiss venture raises $8m to ‘de-bottleneck’ food fermentation industry

20-Apr-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Geneva-based company planetary has closed on of the largest seed rounds of a European food company, collecting CHF 7.5m (€7.3), led by impact investor Astanor Ventures, with participation from XAnge, Blue Horizon, Nucleus Capital, Exceptional Ventures...

Nomad Foods calls for innovators to help expand use of mussel meat, develop paper-based packaging for frozen foods, and create ‘clean label’ methylcellulose alternatives

14-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

Frozen food giant Nomad Foods has launched an Open Innovation Portal, inviting academics and SMEs to share ideas that could be scaled to ‘shape the future of food’.

Regulating precision fermentation: Challenges and opportunities in marketing microbially-derived foods in Europe

14-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

The US is ‘streaking ahead’ in the regulation of precision fermentation-derived food products, while the European Commission is yet to approve its first. So what are the key challenges alt protein start-ups face on this side of the pond? And once on the...

Eating meat is less morally acceptable for kids than adults, finds study

13-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

Fresh research demonstrates that humans are not born with the mental processes used to justify eating meat.

‘We have aggressive projections for the region’: Mushroom protein supplier MycoTechnology eyes European growth

12-Apr-2022 By Oliver Morrison

The US-based company has built a proprietary fermentation platform which makes functional ingredients using mycelium, the fibrous root structure of mushrooms.

Meet the start-up converting raw materials into protein in a day: ‘We have the fastest protein production in the world’

11-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

MicroHarvest is taking a three-pronged approach to commercialisation, targeting the food, feed, and petfood markets with its microbial fermentation-derived alternative protein. FoodNavigator catches up with CEO and co-founder Katelijne Bekers to hear...

Plant-based ‘marbled’ steaks developed from fat and pea protein in Switzerland

08-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

ETH Pioneer Fellow Martin Hofmann has developed a way of producing plant-based meat alternatives that mimic the fibrous structure and ‘marbling’ of the real thing.

Duck duck…goose? Meat fraud amongst breaches revealed in foie gras investigation

07-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

An investigation into the labelling and composition of foie gras products in France has revealed numerous cases of non-compliance.

‘The main issue is affordability’: How is Ukraine war affecting meat production and consumption in Russia?

06-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

From weakened demand to rising costs, FoodNavigator hears how war in Ukraine is impacting Russia’s meat industry.

JUST Egg mung bean protein wins EU approval, launch expected ‘before the end of the year’

05-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

The key ingredient in Eat Just’s plant-based egg alternative, mung bean protein, has received approval from the European Commission. The decision ‘opens the door’ to distribution across the bloc, according to Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick.

How is the war in Ukraine impacting the global meat industry?

04-Apr-2022 By Flora Southey

How is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impacting meat production, consumption, and exports in eastern Europe and further afield?

Griffith Foods talks nutrition and plant-based innovation: ‘Think different, think centre plate transformation’

29-Mar-2022 By Katy Askew

Griffith Foods is focusing its product development might on the core pillars of nutrition and plant-based product development, with efforts informed by the ‘guiding star’ of sustainability. European President Wim van Roekel weighs in on the massive potential...

The future of meat: The tobacco plant?

29-Mar-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Israeli start-up BioBetter is repurposing tobacco plants in attempt to overcome the greatest hurdle currently facing the budding cultivated meat industry: scaled production.

Why high moisture extrusion could solve alt meat’s nutritional as well as structural challenges

24-Mar-2022 By Oliver Morrison

High moisture extrusion (HME) technology is currently all about improving the texture of meat analogues. But it may also be the key to improving the nutritional profile of plant-based meat and seafood.

‘Dietary guidelines are likely wrong’: Saturated fat does not increase cardiovascular disease risk, argue researchers

24-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

While consuming saturated fats increases blood cholesterol, meta-analyses suggest this does not translate into increased risk of cardiovascular disease, say researchers.

New tech in sugar reduction

23-Mar-2022 By Rachel Arthur

We take a look at some of the latest developments in sugar reduction technology.

Why might Germany be losing its appetite for meat and dairy?

21-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

More than half of Germany’s population reduced its meat consumption in the past year, and one-third plans to consume fewer dairy products in the next six months, according to a new report. FoodNavigator asks why.

Inside Hive: A deep-dive into Unilever's plant-based innovation drive

21-Mar-2022 By Katy Askew

“We want to outgrow the competition and we want to do it in ways that are better for people and the planet,” Unilever’s head of Food & Refreshment Hanneke Faber says. How does the company plan to do this? FoodNavigator goes inside Hive, Unilever’s...

AAK, Chr. Hansen, Givaudan and Ingredion co-create plant-based yoghurt base: ‘We identified a gap in terms of taste and texture’

18-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

The first plant-based customer-ready product has been developed by four MISTA members from the ingredients sector. FoodNavigtor asks MISTA what makes its plant-based yoghurt base unique.

‘A sign of strong political support for cellular agriculture’: Dutch House of Representatives votes in favour of cultivated meat tastings

17-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

Cultivated meat players in the Netherlands have welcomed the outcome of the Dutch House of Representatives’ vote.

GUEST ARTICLE

Industry insights from NIZO: Precision fermentation: Making the case for ‘animal protein without the animal’

16-Mar-2022 By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager

What challenges do precision fermentation players face in making alternative protein production economically feasible?

De Novo Dairy: Meet Africa’s first precision fermentation player making human milk proteins for infant nutrition

14-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

The South Africa-based food tech company is developing ‘nature identical’ proteins from scratch to help infants get the ‘right’ nutrition from the beginning, co-founder and CEO Jean Louwrens tells FoodNavigator.

Ajinomoto-SuperMeat tie-up addresses cell growth media bottleneck: ‘For the first time, cultivated meat is backed by a commercially viable supply chain’

11-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

Cultivated meat start-up SuperMeat has partnered with Japanese food giant Ajinomoto to leverage the latter’s expertise in biotechnology and fermentation. Ajinomoto is well positioned to provide global supply chain solutions to cell feed ingredients, SuperMeat...

Cultured meat shows similar texture profile to real thing, claims study first

11-Mar-2022 By Oliver Morrison

The texture characteristics of cultivated meat show values ‘within the range of traditional meat commercial products’, according to Spanish research.

ASC plans historic certification overhaul to boost fish farming’s image

09-Mar-2022 By Oliver Morrison

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council has announced plans for what will represent the biggest overall of its certification scheme since its inception as it seeks to bust the ‘myths’ surrounding farmed fish.

First land-based shrimp farm in France prepares to scale, tapping deeptech and ‘permaquaculture’

07-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

Lisaqua has secured €4.9m in funding to launch France’s first land-based shrimp farm. FoodNavigator asks co-founder and CEO Gabriel Boneu about the company’s ‘low environmental impact’ production system.

Insect-as-food waste a ‘tremendous’ opportunity to boost crop yields sustainably

04-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

Residual streams from insect production have the potential to improve plant health, while reducing pesticide and fertiliser use, say researchers from Wageningen University and Research.

The fibre dilemma: If we build it, will they come?

04-Mar-2022 By Oliver Morrison

The UK’s Food and Drink Federation is pushing manufacturers to make more fibre-rich foods. But is there a market for these products?

Upcycling vegetable by-products into fibre-rich ingredients for ‘juicier’ burgers: ‘We can make processed food healthier and more sustainable’

03-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

New vegan products made with upcycled ‘imperfect’ vegetables are being developed by researchers in Europe.

Whole cut alt piggy goes to market: ‘Bacon is the largest category pending disruption’

01-Mar-2022 By Flora Southey

Barcelona-based Libre Foods’ first product, a hybrid bacon alternative made from fungi and plant proteins, is preparing to launch into Europe this year.

‘We are going after hard aged cheeses’: Better Dairy changes tack to fill ‘big gap’ in cow-free dairy

28-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

UK-based Better Dairy has a new strategy. Instead of solely targeting the B2B milk protein ingredient market, the precision fermentation start-up wants to disrupt hard aged cheese. FoodNavigator catches up with CEO and co-founder Jevan Nagarajah to hear...

Kraft Heinz and NotCo to develop co-branded plant-based products with global scale

23-Feb-2022 By Katy Askew

The Kraft Heinz Co has entered into a joint venture agreement with food tech start-up TheNotCompany.

Givaudan mimics animal fat cells with encapsulated coconut oil to ‘reduce high fat content while improving juiciness’ in plant-based

22-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

The Swiss flavours and fragrances company has coined the technology ‘PrimeLock+’, as it says it brings the visual appeal of beef fat to plant-based products, while allowing for controlled fat and flavour release during the cooking process.

Calamari alternative developed from microbial fermentation: ‘If successful, we’ll look to launch in Europe’

17-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

Aqua Cultured Foods has completed development of its first commercial product: a calamari alternative made from microbial fermentation.

The FoodNavigator Podcast: How big is the healthy ageing opportunity?

17-Feb-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Is the industry ignoring the growing numbers of older people? Or do older people just not want to be directly targeted by the food sector? FoodNavigator investigates.