Proteins

NPD Trend Tracker: From Arabic honey to watermelon kombucha

24-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

This week, we have a range of products aiming for sustainable packaging: from wine and spirits, to coffee, to ketchup. We also have kombucha made from watermelons grown in Italy, honey from the UAE, and bread from Danish bakery Ole and Steen.

Pork proteins produced in soy? Molecular farming tech produces pig-plant protein hybrid soybean

24-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

Molecular farming company Moolec Science is combining plant-based and cell-based technologies to produce pork protein in soy.

The ‘cheese paradox’: How vegetarians justify consuming animal products

21-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Many vegetarians choose not to consume meat for ethical reasons, believing that harming and killing animals simply to provide humans with food is wrong. However, they still eat non-meat animal products (NMAPs), which often have the same result. A new...

How Thai Union plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050

21-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

The seafood giant has announced near-term and long-term climate targets, including an ambition to achieve net zero ambitions by 2050. Adam Brennan, chief sustainability officer at Thai Union Group, talks us through the strategy.

What is carnism?

19-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Coined in 2001, social psychologist Melanie Joy’s theory of carnism suggests a philosophical basis behind the defence and justification of meat consumption. In a time where plant-based diets fight to replace those of meat, it is more relevant than ever....

Research predicts significant disruption of cheese market with animal-free dairy

19-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

Fresh research suggests that at price parity, animal-free cheese will capture a third of the UK cheese market.

‘A great achievement for the Dutch government’: First Member State approves pre-market tastings of cultivated meat

19-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

The first government sanction in the EU for how cultivated meat tastings can be conducted has received national government approval in the Netherlands.

Consumers warned of ‘potentially lethal’ protein powder on the market

18-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

The UK’s food safety regulator is urging consumers to avoid a recalled protein powder containing 5g of caffeine per serve – the equivalent of up to 200 cups of coffee.

High-intensity sweetener uncovered in truffles ‘potentially game-changing’ for sugar reduction

17-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

MycoTechnology says it is ‘standing on the brink of a sweet revolution’ having discovered a sweet protein derived from honey truffle. “Proteins are widely recognised as the future of sweeteners,” says MycoTechnology CEO Alan Hahn.

Redefine Meat ‘bullish’ in face of consolidation of plant-based brands

14-Jul-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Redefine Meat is accelerating its UK distribution to meet demand with eight wholesaler partners. Its UK wholesalers now span national and regional brands including Albion Fine Foods, Braehead Foods, Brakes, Classic Fine Foods, Elite Fine Foods, Food Republic,...

‘A blank canvas to add whatever flavours desired’: Start-up provides nutrient-rich spirulina meat substitutes

11-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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.

A study of low connectivity: The risks of infectious disease in Austria’s pig transportation system

07-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Austria’s pig industry is mostly self-sufficient. But this doesn’t mean that bacterial infection doesn’t pose a danger to livestock. A new study charts how the different networks of communication between farms, slaughterhouses and other points in Austria’s...

Heura collaborates with schools to provide plant-based nutrition

07-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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.

Behind Nestlé’s dual strategy for Garden Gourmet: Meat mimicry and plant-forward foods

06-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

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...

Plant & Bean factory lives to see another meat-free day under Heather Mills ownership

05-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

Administrators of the troubled contract plant-based meat manufacturer have sold its manufacturing site and associated equipment to two businesses run by vegan activist Heather Mills.

Ideological objects in the practical world: How plant-based meat shapes food practices

05-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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...

‘A public health concern’: Can Campylobacter jejuni survive in raw milk?

04-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

After an outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni, or C. jejuni, in 2020, researchers explored its presence in raw milk. But due to the specific properties of the bacteria, detection isn’t always straightforward.

EU novel foods regulation ‘hindering innovation’ in meat alternatives sector

04-Jul-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Notoriously costly and time-consuming novel food rules potentially limit advancement in the category, FoodNavigator’s Protein Vision event heard.

‘It's almost like the grass was jumping out at you’: The benefits of grass-fed dairy

03-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Ireland’s dairy cows are famous for their grass-fed diet. But this diet isn’t just about giving the cows a tasty meal – it affects their health, has strong benefits for sustainability compared to other feeds, and creates better quality milk as an end...

‘Chicken carcasses should be seen on par with chicken fillets’: Valorising poultry by-products for food

03-Jul-2023 By Flora Southey

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?

NPD Trend Tracker: From chocolate covered bananas to worker's tea

03-Jul-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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....

‘We return value to our members’: How cooperatives help to run Ireland’s dairy sector

27-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Founded in 1961 as the Irish Dairy Board, a government body tasked with exporting Ireland’s dairy produce, Ornua (meaning ‘new gold’ in Irish Gaelic) now exports to 110 markets around the globe each year, and is responsible for world-famous brands such...

Alt dairy bottleneck: start-up calls for collaboration to speed non-animal casein production

27-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

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...

Alternative protein made from…broccoli? Stalks and leaves upcycled into ‘clean’ protein for industry

26-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

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.

'We've overcome the first wave of vegan and vegetarian alternatives': Protein Distillery posits brewer’s yeast-based protein as the next stage in the market

26-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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...

'It is our culture, it is our religion': How food culture shapes nutrition

23-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Italy is famous around the world for its food, and for many, food is an important part of its culture. The UK, however, is often stereotyped as having no food culture at all. As simplistic and unhelpful as these stereotypes often are, food culture - of...

Precision fermentation: Future of dairy or busted flush?

23-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

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...

Industry tie-up for ‘meaty’ alt protein made from pumpkin seeds: ‘We don’t focus on replicating meat; our products stand on their own’

22-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

Israeli start-up More Foods, which makes ‘meaty’ products made from pumpkin seeds, is announcing a strategic collaboration with Osem-Nestlé Group subsidiary Tivol.

Europe ‘falling behind’ after US approval of two cultivated meat products

22-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

European food standards authorities are hindering innovation, it has been claimed, after lab-grown chicken was approved for sale in the US.

Meatless Farm off the chopping block as VFC Foods confirms takeover

21-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

Vegan food company VFC has announced its acquisition of Meatless Farm, rescuing the struggling plant-based meat maker from administration.

GUEST ARTICLE

Industry Insights from NIZO - The best of both worlds: plant and dairy 'hybrid' foods

21-Jun-2023 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...

Vegbloc: Meet the start-up substituting, not imitating, meat with a clean label

21-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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...

Upcycled ingredients: Challenges and opportunities in securing side stream supply

20-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

How do upcycling innovators ensure they have abundant supply of side stream raw materials to develop new ingredients for the food and beverage industry?

A first for photosynthesis- and agriculture-free food: Protein ‘made from air’ officially on the menu

19-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

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’.

Eastern promise: why the UK’s Norfolk and Suffolk are vying to unlock their agri-tech potential

19-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

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.

A sign of investor delusion? Or just an unfortunate casualty? What Meatless Farm’s fall might signal about plant-based meat

16-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

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?

Seaweed sector buoyed as 20 species of sea lettuce found on Baltic and Scandinavian coasts

15-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The number of species of the green alga sea lettuce in the Baltic Sea region and Scandinavian coast is much larger than what was previously known.

Heat-damaged DNA in food could be linked to cancer, study shows

15-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Foods including red and processed meat have been frequently linked to cancer. A new study suggests that this could be because of the cooking process – food cooked at high heats could damage the DNA in the food, leading to increased cancer risk in those...

Soy animal feed’s trail of deforestation: What are the solutions?

14-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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.

How sensory science can drive innovation and cure current food system ills

14-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

In the highly competitive, complex landscape manufacturers are now in, product acceptance is more than ever about the emotions a product generates, FoodNavigator hears.

'The ultimate goal is to foster innovation and accelerate the go-to-market of new products': Inside Roquette's new food innovation centre

13-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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...

UK start-up raises $30M to scale cultured meat using RNA technology

13-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

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.

‘We’re prioritising innovation over profit’: Cheaper, licence-free cell banks now available for cultivated meat research

12-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

The cell bank initiative is being spearheaded by Extracellular, a CDMO concerned that cultivated meat research is being impeded by costly animal primary cells.

Unilever boosts fat release in vegan bacon with new plant tech

12-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

Unilever’s plant-based meat brand The Vegetarian Butcher has updated its vegan bacon alternative to better mimic its conventional counterpart.

UK mulls rule changes to allow faster cultivated meat and animal-free dairy approvals

09-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The UK is considering novel foods regulation changes that could speed cell-based meat and precision fermentation approvals.

Danish project seeks to upcycle fish farming waste into fibre- and umami-rich algae for food sector

08-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

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.

Plant-based fat mimics the texture of animal fat in bakery products

07-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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 – The sustainability potential

06-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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.

Alternative protein from leaves? ‘Industry first’ development to reduce reliance on soy and pea

06-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

A new source of alternative plant protein from amaranth leaf is in development for the food industry, with the help of vertical farming technology.

Health, environment or lactose intolerance: Why do people drink plant-based milk?

05-Jun-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

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...