Proteins

Upcycling ag by-products for human nutrition: Scientists extract toxin-free Rubisco protein from tomato leaves

30-May-2022 By Katy Askew

Researchers at Wageningen University & Research claimed a world-first when they came up with a method to extract high-value Rubisco protein from tomato leaves, removing the naturally-occurring toxins from the plant.

Grey Silo: Meet the VC targeting next-gen ingredients in Europe and Israel

26-May-2022 By Flora Southey

Italian agribusiness and food ingredients company Cereal Docks has set up a corporate venture arm: Grey Silo Ventures. FoodNavigator catches up with Cereal Docks’ business development manager to find out which food tech areas they’re targeting and why.

Notes from Iceland: How the blue economy can drive value and cut waste

26-May-2022 By Katy Askew

Iceland is forging a model for the ‘blue economy’ that has driven down waste and enhanced the value of fish. Supported by a vibrant innovation ecosystem, the seafood sector is working towards a zero-waste model that is better for both business and the...

BENEO hails benefits of Meatless acquisition: ‘Meatless’ technology and product range are unique’

24-May-2022 By Katy Askew

Functional ingredient supplier BENEO has acquired Meatless, a Dutch innovator in plant-based texturizing solutions for meat and fish alternatives. FoodNavigator hears more about how the deal will accelerate growth at the businesses.

Let’s talk innovation in alternative meat and dairy: Protein Vision 2022

24-May-2022 By Katy Askew

With the plant-based boom showing no signs of slowing, FoodNavigator profiles the technology, ingredients and culinary science powering innovation in meat and dairy alternatives.

Faking ‘healthy’ and ‘sustainable’ diets: Why consumers lie about what’s on their plate

23-May-2022 By Flora Southey

New studies suggest consumers are lying about their overall calorie intake and making different food choices depending on who’s watching.

Alt fat from insects: Exploring the circular economy potential of larvae fat for feed and food

20-May-2022 By Flora Southey

Could insect-derived fatty acids, fuelled by mixed food waste, replace conventional dietary fat in feed and food applications?

ENOUGH and MeaTech3D collaborate the next generation of meat alternatives... ‘Hybrid products with cultured meat’

19-May-2022 By Katy Askew

Plant-based meat analogues are still striving to deliver a genuine ‘meaty’ taste, texture and mouthfeel. Could combining plant proteins with cultured animal fats offer a solution? Food tech innovators ENOUGH and MeaTech3D have launched a collaboration...

Where is the ‘whitespace’ in food tech? We ask the incubators…

18-May-2022 By Flora Southey

What’s missing from the food tech landscape? We ask incubators in Spain, Germany, and Israel what’s trending, what challenges start-ups are facing, and where the ‘whitespace’ lies.

Industry Insights from NIZO - The 'next generation' of plant-based drinks: protein parity

18-May-2022 By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager

In plant-based milk, consumers are increasingly aware of the importance of nutritional parity - including protein levels - with dairy milk or high-protein beverages. Is it as easy as simply adding protein to the mix?

Upcycling dairy to produce the 'world's first' mycoprotein: Valio and eniferBio join forces on Pekilo research

17-May-2022 By Katy Askew

A tie-up between Finnish dairy major Valio and biotech start-up eniferBio could unlock new possibilities to upcycle of dairy side-streams for novel sustainable protein.

'It might replace cheap chicken or grass-fed beef or even prove irrelevant... we don't know yet': Project to probe if lab-grown meat is friend or foe to farmers

16-May-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Farmers are teaming up with cultured meat businesses, food companies, charities and government to explore the pros and cons of cell-based meat.

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...