Manufacturing & Technology

Webinar Recap: Proteins and Fibres – Identifying Winning Solutions with KaTech Ingredient Solutions

Discover the intricate world of plant-based product development in our latest webinar recording, titled ‘Proteins and Fibers: Understanding the Essentials for Plant-based Formulations’. Jocelyn Hernandez, Senior Project Manager at KaTech, takes you through the complexities and nuances of selecting the right proteins and fibers for exceptional plant-based products. Display content from YouTube Click here to display content from YouTube. Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy. Always display content from YouTube Open “KaTech Webinar – Proteins and fibres: Understanding the essentials for plant based formulatio” directly Navigating the Diverse Landscape of Plant Proteins and Fibers The webinar explores the vast variety of proteins and fibers available, from fava bean and chickpea proteins to apple, bamboo, and citrus fibers. Learn how these ingredients differ in functionality and …

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© Vemiwa

Vemiwa: Additive-Free Meat Alternatives Made From Western European Legumes

Vemiwa is an independent plant-based food producer that manufactures a range of meat, fish, and dairy alternatives at its recently completed facility in Bavaria, Germany. While many manufacturers use additives and thickeners to help give plant-based products a meat-like texture, Vemiwa has a focus on additive-free production. With support from the Fraunhofer Institute in Freising, the company has developed an extrusion technique that achieves a fibrous texture by combining plant proteins, water, and oil under high pressure and heat, with no need for additives. While meat alternatives are often made from soy or wheat, Vemiwa uses legumes such as peas and fava beans, which are allergen-free and easy to source organically. These raw materials are all grown within Germany and Western Europe, keeping delivery routes …

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Image supplied by Clextral

Clextral’s innovative developments in producing affordable and tasty alternative proteins

The world’s population is increasing. The living standards are rising in many countries. To satisfy the expanding demand for meat and fish consumption, industrial livestock and aquaculture production has multiplied. However, aware of the societal, ethical and environmental effects of an animal-based diet, more and more consumers are willing to reduce their meat and fish consumption by introducing healthy non-animal protein sources into their diets. Mankind being omnivorous, we can anticipate that the global population will still, on average, include meat and fish in its diet. However, some of this consumption of meat and fish products could be replaced by another type of high protein food: plant-based meat and fish substitutes. One of the major challenges of the 21st century will be feeding the growing …

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Coperion machinery

© Coperion

Reliable and Flexible Extrusion and Feeding Technology for More Variety in Plant-based Meat Alternatives

The market for plant-based products has seen immense growth over the last few years. In addition to vegetarian and vegan consumers who have always been prone to trying all types of meat alternatives, more and more people are now opting for a flexitarian lifestyle. This group of consumers has set the goal to reduce their meat consumption. Therefore, they are looking for adequate plant-based replacements for all of their favorite meat products such as sausages, burger patties, or the meat used in pasta sauce. To meet these requirements and ensure a wide variety of vegetarian meat alternatives are available, producers have to react – both in terms of their product development and production set-up. The German startup company Vemiwa Foods demonstrates how the adaptation to …

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Emmanuel Lavocat of Clextral

Emmanuel Lavocat. © Clextral

Clextral: “We Have More Than 35 Years of Expertise Supplying Twin-Screw Extruder Systems for the Alt Protein Industry”

Headquartered in Firminy, France, Clextral is a medium-sized company that has specialized in the design, manufacture, and installation of twin-screw extrusion systems (extruder and complete line) for various industries since 1956. The company is now a global leader in the field and has been working with the alternative proteins industry for over three decades. Clextral has a global presence, serving international customers via 12 subsidiaries worldwide. The company also has two test centers (Firminy in France and Tampa in the USA) where it runs extrusion trials for alternative proteins. Emmanuel Lavocat is an Extrusion Process Engineer and Alternative Proteins Market Manager at Clextral. He has an engineering degree from Compiègne Technology University, and has been working for Clextral since 1999. We spoke to him to …

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Swiss technology group Bühler has unveiled a new food innovation hub in Uzwil, Switzerland-

© Bühler

Bühler Unveils Swiss Food Innovation Hub Featuring Protein Center for Plant-Based Foods

Swiss technology Bühler Group has unveiled a new food innovation hub in Uzwil, Switzerland, to develop sustainable foods, including plant-based meat. The food innovation hub comprises four new Application & Training Centers (ATCs): Flavor, Food, Protein, and Energy Recovery, joined by existing Chocolate, Extrusion, Pasta, and Grain (under construction) ATCs. Bühler emphasizes that all its ATCs connect the entire food production value chain, offering customers the ideal environment to “master market changes” and innovate. “In this world where requirements are changing so fast, customers need flexibility and creativity to adapt their products addressing key issues such as sustainability, the use of local raw materials, healthy diets, and affordability,” says Johannes Wick, CEO of Grains & Food at Bühler Group.  Innovation for plant-based foods Operated in partnership with …

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MicroHarvest pilot plant opening

© MicroHarvest

MicroHarvest Opens Pilot Plant to Accelerate Journey Towards Commercialisation

Biotech company MicroHarvest has opened a pilot plant in Lisbon, Portugal, to produce samples of its single-cell protein made through microbial fermentation. In the space of six months, MicroHarvest has transformed a portion of its office space into the laboratory and plant, which was officially opened at an event on November 16. The opening was attended by the company’s partners and investors. The new pilot plant will allow MicroHarvest to test and hone its proprietary technology, accelerating the commercialisation process. The company hopes to have its first product on the market by early 2024, after forming a partnership with a contract manufacturer that will allow it to scale to 1 ton per day. “This pilot plant serves as tangible evidence of the scalability of our …

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LMI_Facility Lovingly Made

© Lovingly Made Ingredients

Canada’s Protein Powered Farms Acquires Meatless Farms Subsidiary Lovingly Made Ingredients

Protein Powered Farms, the owner and operator of Canada’s largest plant protein extraction facility, has announced the acquisition of Lovingly Made Ingredients, a subsidiary of well-known UK plant-based meat brand Meatless Farm.  Lovingly Made Ingredients operates an extrusion facility for plant-based products in Calgary, Alberta. Constructed by Meatless Farms in 2021 to capture the North American plant-based meat market, it is said to be Canada’s largest extrusion facility. In a separate acquisition move, Meatless Farms was famously taken over by VFC this summer after facing bankruptcy. Impressively, the company returned to business almost immediately and its products were swiftly relisted at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Ocado.  Shannon Hood-Niefer, CTO of Lovingly Made Ingredients, said, “I am really excited about this acquisition. I have spent over 15 …

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Oatly production line

©Oatly

Ya YA Foods Announces $92M Expansion of Manufacturing Plant in Utah Following Oatly Facility Takeover

Ya YA Food Corp., a Toronto-based food and beverage packaging company, has announced a $92 million investment in the expansion of its manufacturing plant in the Business Depot Ogden business park in Ogden, Utah. The company took over the plant from Swedish alt-dairy company Oatly as part of a $72 million deal in January. This is part of Oatly’s shift to an “asset-light supply chain strategy” where Ya YA Foods not only assumed management of Oatly’s Ogden facility but also took control of its Fort Worth, Texas operation.  This strategic move is a key component of Ya YA’s expansion plans and marks the company’s initial venture into food and beverage packaging in the United States, projecting the creation of 302 jobs over the next decade. …

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Amber Wave has installed what it claims is North America’s largest wheat protein ingredients facility.

© Amber Wave

Amber Wave Launches Production at Wheat Protein Facility Set to Become the Largest in North America

Amber Wave, a US supplier of high-quality wheat protein, announces it has begun production at what it claims is to become North America’s largest wheat protein ingredients facility, following an investment from the agribusiness operator and investment manager Summit Agricultural Group. Located in Phillipsburg, Kansas, the “state-of-the-art facility” has been equipped with the latest technology in milling, wheat protein extraction, and renewable biofuels. It includes a 27,500 cwt (hundredweight) flour mill and two silos for grain storage. “Utilizing world-class automation, superior equipment, and an exceptionally trained workforce, we will produce a high-quality domestic wheat protein ingredient. Safety, quality, and sustainability were key areas of focus as we progressed through the project phase,” said Steve Adams, COO of Amber Wave in a statement. Wheat protein and …

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© KaTech

Proteins and Fibres: Identifying Winning Solutions with KaTech Ingredient Solutions

Proteins and fibres are the building blocks of current plant-based development strategies. But with so much choice, how can manufacturers select the right ingredients for the best results? It’s a question of taking an integrated approach, as Jocelyn Hernandez, senior project manager at KaTech, explains. With so many different types of proteins and fibres now available, identifying which to use in product formulations has never been more challenging. The sheer scale and scope of global supply means that functionality and characteristics can vary enormously. And that’s before you factor in differences between producers and processes within categories that range from fava bean and chickpea proteins to apple, bamboo and citrus fibres. This level of complexity means that having a comprehensive understanding of plant proteins and …

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Food Centre fermentation burgers

© Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc

Saskatchewan’s Food Centre Advances Precision Fermentation in Canada with New Facility

The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc. (Food Centre) is making significant strides in the construction of its cutting-edge Advanced Food Ingredients Centre, set to provide a unique platform for contract research and manufacturing services in the fields of precision fermentation and bioengineering in Canada. The state-of-the-art fermentation facility, designed to accommodate production scaling of up to 20,000 liters, will serve as a transitional platform for companies, enabling them to experiment with and manufacture precision fermentation products before committing to establishing their own large-scale production facilities. “Precision fermentation requires highly specialized equipment for production at large scales in the order of 100,000 to 1 million L capacities for sustainable, economical, and routine production. For many of the SMEs, the cost of establishing such infrastructure may …

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MycoTechnology launches Fermentation as a Service (FaaS) platform to help other companies produce bioproducts at a commercial scale.

© MycoTechnology

MycoTechnology Launches FaaS Platform to Address Commercial Scale Challenges in Bioproducts

US mycelial fermentation company MycoTechnology announces the launch of a Fermentation as a Service (FaaS) platform to help other companies produce bioproducts at a commercial scale, including proteins, enzymes, and probiotics.  “Fermentation is a critical process that underpins the production of a wide array of bioproducts,” says Ranjan Patnaik, CTO at MycoTechnology.   The new platform offers fermentation capacity services from 300 to 90,000 L. In addition, it provides companies with essential tools and expertise to address commercial production challenges such as product quality, yield, and cost management.  Furthermore, the FaaS platform complies with FDA 21 CFR Part 117 guidelines and holds a GFSI audit certification from BRCGS, guaranteeing a “robust and reliable facility for fermentation services,” explains the company. Accelerating innovations MycoTechnology states that this initiative will inspire …

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Pow.Bio has announced a $9.5 million raise to reduce the biomanufacturing costs of animal-free ingredients.

© Pow.Bio

Pow.Bio Raises $9.5M to Reduce the High Costs of Animal-Free Ingredients

Californian biomanufacturing company Pow.Bio has announced a $9.5 million raise in a Series A round to run what it claims is the first-ever AI-controlled, automated continuous fermentation platform for precision fermentation ingredients capable of reducing biomanufacturing costs.  Re:Food and Thia Ventures led the round, joined by Hitachi Ventures, the venture capital arm of Hitachi. Possible Ventures, XFactor Ventures, Bee Partners, iSelect, Climate Capital, Vectors Angel, Better Ventures, and Cantos supported the CDMO in this round. “Early on, we identified continuous fermentation as a necessity to enable cost-competitive, sustainable food production. We are excited to partner with Pow.Bio because of the strength of their continuous platform, the quality of their team, and their commitment and vision for a more sustainable SynBio future,” said Peter Odemark, co-founder and managing …

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Two Spanish scientists have developed a clean label meat alternative using the Mediterranean legume carob and HPP tech.

© iLike Food Innovation

Meet Leggie: Spain’s Clean Label Plant-Based Meat Crafted with Carob and HHP Tech

Leveraging the high-pressure processing (HPP) tech developed by the Spanish industrial equipment company Hiperbaric, Marta Miguel and Marta Garcés, two Spanish scientists from CSID and the Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV) have developed a clean-label meat alternative using the Mediterranean legume carob. Launched under the Leggie brand through iLike Food Innovation, the new plant-based meat is made with only six ingredients: rice flour (to texturize the matrix), carob, extra virgin olive oil, vegetable fiber, water, and salt. According to Miguel, Leggie’s plant-based meat is a healthier (promoting good digestion) and more balanced alternative than the similar options available in the market. Carob is richer in fiber than other legumes and contains a natural red color. Regarding sustainability, carob trees grow in arid climates and dry soils …

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CDMO Extracellular has opened what it claims is Europe's largest contract pilot plant for cultivated meat and seafood in Bristol, the UK.

Image courtesy of Extracellular

Extracellular Unveils Europe’s Largest Contract Pilot Facility for Cultivated Meat & Seafood

CDMO Extracellular announces it has opened what it claims is Europe’s largest contract pilot plant for cultivated meat and seafood in Bristol, the UK.  The facility, established for food-grade operations, will provide essential scale-up and manufacturing services to assist cultivated meat companies in achieving their production goals and mitigating the expense and time associated with building new sites. According to Extracellular, its pilot plant currently has an operational capacity of 200 L and is expected to reach 2,000 L by December 2023. It can produce up to 50t of cultivated meat annually; however, the facility is expected to reach 100t per year. The facility will hold multiple bioreactors from 50 L to 5,000 L and has a planned capacity to hold 10,000 liters. Great consumer products at achievable …

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Branston to open potato protein facility

© Branston

UK Potato Supplier Branston Prepares to Open “Pioneering” Potato Protein Facility

Branston, one of the UK’s largest potato suppliers, will begin production at its new “pioneering” potato protein extraction facility in early 2024. The company is currently best known for its fresh potatoes, along with products such as French fries. But as demand for plant-based foods continues to grow, Branston plans to expand by producing protein for the food industry. The construction of the site, which is described as the first of its kind in the UK, was first announced in 2021. At the time, Branston reported that it would invest around £6 million in the project, which will exclusively use potatoes grown in the UK. Ahead of the opening, Branston has hired a general manager, Tom Seagrief, to head up the facility. He returns to …

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Hoxton Farms opens cultivated animal fat pilot production facility

© Hoxton Farms

Hoxton Farms Opens “UK’s First” Cultivated Animal Fat Pilot Production Facility

London-based biotech firm Hoxton Farms has opened what it claims is the UK’s first pilot production facility for cultivated animal fat. The 14,000-square-foot site on Old Street in Central London features specialist cell culture laboratories, a food development kitchen, office space, and communal areas. There is also a workshop for the manufacturing of bespoke bioreactors, designed to produce cultivated fat at a much lower cost than standard bioreactors. These have been developed using Hoxton Farms’ technology platform, which is based on computational biology and mathematical modelling. Price parity with plant oils Following the opening of the new facility, Hoxton Farms plans to expand its team from 40 to 100 people. Additionally, production capacity will be increased to ten tonnes of cultivated fat per year. The …

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© MeEat Food Tech

MeEat Selects Centric PLM to Help Revolutionize Plant-Based Food Industry

Finnish food tech startup partners with Centric Software to bolster innovation, streamline processes & enhance collaboration Centric Software®, the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) market leader, proudly announces its partnership with MeEat, a Finnish plant-based food tech startup. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source and sell products such as apparel, footwear, sporting goods, furniture, home décor, consumer electronics, cosmetics, food & beverage and luxury to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals. Founded in 2020, MeEat Food Tech is a plant-based food startup with an aspirational mission — to make the best plant-based products and help the meat industry switch to plant-based food production. MeEat is a spin-off from a Finnish meat processing company, Pouttu, and their brand MUU …

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© diak – stock.adobe.com

Report Finds Boston Could Become One of the Leading Centers for Food Technology

According to a study by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, food tech companies are increasingly choosing to locate in the greater Boston area. The report also finds that 70 foodtech companies raised more than $8 billion in capital between 2019 and 2022. The Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute (FNII) report, titled Boston Foodtech 2023, highlights Boston as a leader in this growing field, with 138 food tech companies, 14 organizations and more than 13,000 employees. The region is positioned to attract and retain top talent because the number of STEM graduates in Massachusetts is greater than any other state.  World-class cluster “This world-class cluster is seeded by Boston’s strong ecosystems in related industries, especially biotech, robotics, software, and data …

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