Potassium deficiency in soil has been revealed as a major threat to livestock and agricultural farming. So what does this mean for global food security and can the current threat be reversed?
Variations in the properties of arabica coffee, such as in taste, caffeine content and disease resistance, are determined by chromosome mutations, according to a recent study. But are these findings purely academic, or relevant to industry? And how could...
Israeli start-up Day 8 has emerged from stealth mode with plans to disrupt plant-based food and drink. Its secret weapon? A protein derived from leaves: Rubisco.
Fermentation is, alongside plant-based and cultivated meat, one of the driving forces behind the alternative protein sector. A new investment from the UK Government aims to boost fermentation innovation.
Do ultra-processed foods lead to poor health outcomes by definition? A ‘hyper-literal’ focus on definitions is not the point, suggest Henry Dimbleby and Chris van Tulleken: ‘ultra-processed food’ as a category encapsulates the toll that an industry dominated...
Last year, Italy attempted to ban cultivated meat production and the marketing of cultivated meat products. However, the law has come into difficulty for its failure to go through the right procedures at EU level.
In this week's NPD Trend Tracker, we see how high orange juice prices have led to the development of mandarin orange juice, and the rise of generative AI has led to the creation of an AI cookbook. Furthermore, we see a rebranding from Mallow &...
Palm oil is cheap to produce in large quantities but unsustainable production methods, notably deforestation, means the bad can far outweigh the good. As a result, brands are increasingly distancing themselves from the use of irresponsible palm oil in...
Hybrid dairy, whereby conventional dairy is blended with plant-based ingredients, holds ‘considerable appeal’ as a category, according to Mintel, but innovation is rare. What can industry do to win new consumers?
After four years in development, Swedish dairy-free start-up Stockeld Dreamery claims to have mastered the meltability experience of cheese with plant-based ingredients.
A fermentation bottleneck still exists for the microbial fermentation sector, according to Swiss biotech Planetary, who is working to optimise protein and fat production with not just ‘overall infrastructure, but correct infrastructure’.
Gluten-free substitutes such as rice and corn flour have for decades aimed to take the role of wheat flour in baked goods, so that those with coeliac disease can consume them. Now there is a new substitute: wheat flour itself.
Could plant-based meat products be made more sustainably? Research trialling a ‘revolutionary’ concept that shortens supply chains and promotes plant protein diversity has received EU support.
Food quality technology plays a vital role both in ensuring that food is safe to eat, therefore reducing food waste, and providing insights around its health and composition. Three European start-ups tell FoodNavigator how technology can help them understand...
Foodtech company, Hailia, is taking a ‘waste not want not’ approach to seafood production by utilising more of every fish caught and repurposing what might once have been cast off.
Cultivated meat needs growth factors in order for its cells to grow. These are usually added to the cell culture media at considerable expense, impacting potential for commercialisation. New research, however, has shown that edited bovine cells can produce...
The world’s first regulatory approval for cultivated beef has been granted in Israel. For EU cultivated meat stakeholders, is the greenlight yet another sign the EU – which has yet to approve such a product – is falling behind? Or does it hold promise...
According to delegates from Italy, France and Austria, cellular agriculture practices represent a threat to primary farm-based approaches and ‘genuine’ food production methods.
Austrian start-up Revo Foods is well known for its 3D-printed fish and meat whole cuts. Now, it has announced technology that can work continuously and produce a variety of products simultaneously, introducing significant flexibility into the production...
A collaboration between two Finnish companies – Solar Foods and Fazer – has seen protein ‘made from air’ added to a chocolate snack bar for consumers in Singapore.
Eel meat is unlike any other: it is fatty, tender, and ‘almost melts in your mouth’, explains Roee Nir, co-founder and CEO of Forsea Foods. The start-up is working to mimic these attributes with stem cells in a lab.
Rice is one of the most important crops in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is particularly at risk from disease. A new study has found that CRISPR technology can be used to edit genes in some strains of rice, developing resistance.
Increased production costs and changes in consumer preferences have both played a key role in how the industry evolved and developed in 2023, so what are these changes and how will they affect the industry going forward?
Colour is an important part of what appeals to consumers about food, making it stand out on the shelf and enhancing the perception of taste. Food colourants, therefore, have a vital job to do. Fermentation, which can produce vegan, kosher and halal colourants...
While the alternative protein scene continues to pursue widespread uptake and acceptance, in 2024, expect to see new and evolving concepts, technologies and regulatory support to progress towards attaining resilient food systems.
From Q2 2024, Ingredion will begin marketing Better Juice’s sugar reduction technology to its customer base. It’s a ‘win-win situation’ that leverages each company’s strengths, Better juice co-founder and co-CEO Gali Yarom tells FoodNavigator.
A new era of convenience will emerge in 2024 as ever-evolving augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology streamlines consumers’ meal planning, shopping and cooking habits.
European cultivated chicken ingredients may soon be winging their way to Asia if Vital Meat is successful in its novel food regulatory submission to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
Steakholder Foods, which claims the launch is a ‘world first’, says its proprietary tech allows the start-up to closely mimic the taste, texture and appearance of traditional meat and seafood.
Producing the right food in space is difficult, given the particular nutritional needs of astronauts and the difficulty of growing anything in the final frontier. Luckily, researchers have developed the ‘perfect meal’ for male astronauts: a vegetarian...
Finnish biotech start-up Enifer will open its first factory in order to develop its mycoprotein ingredient, following its receiving of €12m in funding. To develop these ingredients, it will use PEKILO fermentation, a process developed in the 1970s by...
European producers in 2024 will focus on informing consumers about processed and ultra-processed foods and drinks, potentially lowering content in formulations to encourage plant-based meat or dairy alternatives uptake.
Spurred on by a drive to pursue positive impact and leave the corporate world, four founders came together to launch their Mediterranean cacao-free chocolate brand.
With the increasing emphasis on consumer health and wellbeing, a food futurologist shares the top 2024 dietary trends that will make a big impact—and interesting fruit and veg choices and eating occasions are getting a big appearance.
At Food Ingredients Europe this year, the ‘Plant-based Innovation Award’ went to MirrorTissue, a plant-based ‘fatty lipid solution’. Here the producers discuss their triumph
Making simple substitutions by swapping animal-based products for plant-based alternatives and opting for lower-impact protein supports climate change efforts and personal health goals, a new study reveals.
Plant-based protein isn’t just about meat and dairy analogues. At Food Ingredients Europe in Frankfurt last month, FoodNavigator spoke to companies doing a range of things with alternative proteins outside of simply adding them to plant-based burgers,...
After 18 months in stealth mode, German start-up Senara is emerging to disrupt the conventional milk market (derived from cow, sheep, goat, donkey and more) with cell cultivation.
From upcycling ‘spent hens’ into flavour enhancers to recreating breast milk in a lab, we round-up five of the most innovate start-ups we interviewed in 2023.
The Italian Government recently announced that it would ban cultivated meat production, at the same time restricting meat-related labels on plant-based meat alternatives. The decision has drawn significant criticism from some quarters, but from Italy's...
After decades of ‘very little’ innovation by heritage brands, is butter (and its plant-based counterparts) having a moment? FoodNavigator investigates.
Food and flavours collide with the film world and a fictional favourite as a University of Warwick professor explores the most famous creations of chocolate idol Willy Wonka ahead of its reimagined release premiering in December 2023.
Vegetables grown indoors, without any soil, may not sound as appealing to consumers as their sun-blushed counterparts cultivated in open fields. But according to fresh research, they taste just as good.