Manufacturing & Technology

Handtmann show to shopper

© Albert Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG

German Manufacturer Handtmann Upcycles Trade Fair Banners Into Shopping Bags

The family-owned company Handtmann, of Biberach, Germany, says it has been committed to developing alternatives in food processing and resource-conserving product concepts for over two decades. This includes hybrid, vegan and vegetarian products. Handtmann regularly exhibits its machine solutions and food concepts at numerous events and trade fairs. The company explains how it has upcycled its trade fair banners as part of its sustainability strategy; the Handtmann “FROM SHOW TO SHOPPER” project converts the trade fair banners into shopping bags in an upcycling process developed by RECICLAGE, a textiles company specialising in this field. The manufacturer produces its handmade products at its headquarters in Alzenau. “Our mission is to create unique one-of-a-kind items from recycled materials and to thus ensure a responsible use of resources,” …

more

Protera Team

Protera team, image supplied

ICL and Protera Biosciences Partner for AI-Driven Precision Fermented Ingredients

ICL Food Specialties of Israel has joined forces with Chile’s Protera Biosciences, an AI-driven food tech startup and designer of novel proteins used to develop precision fermented ingredients for food manufacturers. Protera closed a $10M Series A round last year, while ICL employs more than 12,500 people worldwide, and reported revenues in 2021 of around $7 billion.  Through the newly announced partnership, ICL and Protera will develop and commercialize sustainable protein-based ingredients using precision fermentation. These ingredients, according to the company, will “improve the sensory properties in plant-based food applications, while positively impacting the world’s food security challenges.” Deep-learning platform Protera’s AI tech, called madiTM, a deep-learning platform, can predict and match the structure and functionality of vegetable proteins. It designs proteins from a database …

more

OmniNano technology

© OmniFoods

OmniFoods Reveals Groundbreaking OmniNano Vegan Fat Technology

Hong Kong-based OmniFoods has revealed an innovative new patented technology called OmniNano Vegan Fat, which it says will strengthen the company’s leading position in the alt meat industry. The technology works by emulsifying oil and water, which then penetrates into plant-based materials to replicate animal fat. Fat is extremely important for juicy, high-quality meat, and OmniFoods is using the new vegan alternative to develop a range of plant-based whole cuts. 2023 launch According to the company, OmniNano technology locks flavour into the plant-based meats and improves tenderness. OmniFoods aims to launch the new range — featuring the Plant-Based Beef Cut and Tips, Plant-Based Chicken Wings, and Plant-Based Pork Cutlet — in 2023.  Fat alternatives Several companies are beginning to recognise fat as a key missing …

more

planetary to scale food fermentation industry

© planetary

World First Integrated Precision and Mycelium Fermentation Protein Plant Coming to Switzerland

Fermentation manufacturing platform planetary SA has hired Glatt and IE Group to engineer what is claimed to be the world’s first integrated precision and mycelium fermentation plant. Based in Switzerland, the facility will be able to produce fermented proteins, lipids, and other compounds at scale, along with mycelium biomass. Planetary raised $8 million to build the facility earlier this year, with the intention of removing bottlenecks in the fermentation industry caused by a lack of bioprocessing capacity. This should help to reduce costs. Integrated process solutions firm Glatt will plan the process and safety technology systems for the facility, while IE Group — an industrial construction specialist — will design the building and infrastructure. The engineering process will have a focus on sustainability and resource …

more

Sponsored Post

Why Creapure® is so important for vegans and vegetarians

Creatine occurs naturally in the human body and is crucial for storage and transport of energy in every single cell of the human body. This makes creatine essential for physical and mental health and for the proper function of the immune system. The human body can cover about half of the daily creatine requirement through its own biosynthesis. The remaining amount must be taken up through nutrition. Only animal products like meat, fish and in small amounts, dairy products, contain creatine naturally. Plant-based foods, on the other hand, do not contain any creatine. Studies show that vegetarians and vegans, therefore, have lower creatine levels, for example in their muscles and red blood cells, compared to non-vegetarians. In order to ensure a sufficient supply of creatine …

more

Happyist Vegan Cheese

©Happyist

Rhode Island: Former Beef Producer Launches ‘Plants to Food’ Plant-Based Manufacturing Hub

This summer, entrepreneur Scott Lively opened Plants to Food, a new co-manufacturing facility in Lincoln, RI, that is devoted to producing a variety of meat- and dairy-free packaged foods.  What makes Plants to Food unusual is Lively’s background – two decades ago, Lively founded Dakota Beef, one of America’s largest grass-fed beef producers. He’s also written a book on the cattle business entitled “For the Love of Beef” and blogged extensively on the topic as “The Beef Geek.” Yet, Lively eventually underwent a change in lifestyle and now considers himself a flexitarian. By opening Plants to Food, Lively intends to make the facility a leader in US plant-based food manufacturing, reports Rhode Island Monthly. Cheese and more In addition to its in-house brands Happyist cheese …

more

Motif FoodWorks Burger

©Motif FoodWorks

New Database ‘Capacitor’ Helps Companies Find Microbial Fermentation Facilities

Synonym Biotechnologies has joined forces with GFI, Blue Horizon, and Material Innovation Initiative to launch a new database called Capacitor. The free resource comprehensively lists microbial fermentation facilities worldwide, helping synthetic biology companies to find capacity. Users can search using criteria such as location, scale, bioprocess, and feedstock, or view facilities on an interactive map. Capacitor is targeting what has been described as a bottleneck in biomanufacturing — it is estimated that a thousand times more capacity will be needed to meet future demand. Alongside developing the database, Synonym is working to address the cause by building new infrastructure in the US. Increasing fermentation capacity Elsewhere in the world, other companies are also attempting to solve the problem of limited fermentation capacity. One is Singapore’s …

more

Southwest-Burger Planet Based Foods

©Planet Based Foods

Planet Based Partners with Cedarlane Foods to Bolster Hemp-Based Meat Production

Sustainable foods company Planet Based Foods (CSE: PBF) announces it has entered a new manufacturing partnership with Cedarlane Natural Foods, a leading producer of healthy frozen and fresh food products. The new partnership is expected to bolster Planet Based’s manufacturing capacity as it expands its line of hemp-based meat products.  According to Planet Based, which launched innovative hemp protein burgers and taquitos in early 2022, working with Cedarlane will create short- and long-term synergistic opportunities for both companies. 25 million taquitos Cedarlane’s strong manufacturing will enable Planet Based to expand the diversity and flavor profile of its range, with new products ranging from burritos to taquitos, as well as handheld, easy-to-prepare healthy foods. Planet expects its taquito production will increase up to 25 million taquitos …

more

change foods sneak peak

© Change Foods

Change Foods Reveals Plans For Animal-Free Casein Facility in Abu Dhabi

US-Australian alt dairy company Change Foods has announced plans to open a manufacturing facility for the production of animal-free casein in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company reveals it has signed an agreement with Kezad Group to design the commercial plant with government support under the NextGen FDI initiative. David Bucca, Change Foods’ founder and CEO, commented: “We are honoured to be a part of the UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative and grateful for the strategic partnership with Kezad Group.”  “NextGen FDI is prioritizing the successful scaling of new sustainable food technologies like ours that offer significant environmental and economic development benefits. The strategic alignment behind our company’s vision to help transition the world to more sustainable food systems by scaling new food production …

more

range of vegan cheeses made by sweets

© Swees Plant-Based Foods

Swees to Open “Thailand’s First” Fully Vegan Cheese Factory

Thai vegan cheese startup Swees has announced it will soon open what it claims is Thailand’s first fully vegan cheese factory. The Chiang Mai-based company has also revealed it is preparing for a seed funding round, which will launch on November 1. The new facility will open in early 2023, enabling higher production volumes that will allow Swees to expand into the local market and initiate its first product exports in the APAC region. “The opening of the plant-based cheese factory in Thailand is historical in all ramifications, as it is designed as a sustainable new production facility to produce vegan cheese for Thailand and save the environment. Studies reveal that plant-based cheese releases 80% fewer CO2 emissions compared to dairy cheese,” said founder Nicolas …

more

Purdue Soy Innovation

©Purdue University

Purdue University Receives $1.1M Grant to Advance Soy Product Innovation

The United Soybean Board (USB) announced it has awarded $1.1M to the Purdue University Food Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing Institute (FEMI), in partnership with the University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri. The joint project, which launched on Oct. 1st, seeks to build infrastructure and connectivity for small- and medium-scale processing of soy-based value-added products.  Co-funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a federal organization focused on addressing key problems in agriculture and food security, the year-long project will be led by Purdue associate professor and FEMI director Dharmendra Mishra. According to Purdue, the project was born out of a national discussion on the soybean value chain. Its work will concentrate on phenotyping for compositional traits in novel value-added applications, trials to eliminate …

more

Proveg AI NFH

© Proveg International

Big Plant-Based Data: Four Ways to Harness AI and Transform your R&D Process

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning technologies are transforming the world as we know it, and are proving to be integral to advancements within the plant-based industry. ProVeg International recently published an article which details four key ways in which your company can utilise AI to improve your plant-based product-development process, helping to reduce company costs, promote productivity in your workforce, and truly excite consumers. In ProVeg’s full article, which draws on insight from experts in the plant-based AI field, you can find out how to effectively harness AI by adopting the following four key strategies: Lead with consumer insight Drive innovation and reduce costs with AI-powered flavours Connect and collaborate with other companies Keep humans at the forefront But why is AI becoming such a …

more

Coperion extrusion seminar

© Coperion

Coperion’s Food Extrusion Seminar Taking Place Again This November 

Coperion’s Food Extrusion Seminar on the latest technical developments and trends in twin screw food extrusion will take place in Stuttgart, Germany, on November 9 and 10, 2022. In this seminar, participants will learn the basics and trends of twin screw extruders for food production and will master how to assemble screw elements in a practical session. In an additional Q&A session, Coperion’s experts will explain the entire extrusion process details, from feeding, processing, and pelletizing to drying and conveying. The seminar’s topics address the needs of production and development department employees that work with food extrusion or twin screw extruders regularly. The seminar is intended for product and process development staff and plant and manufacturing engineers. Participants should be familiar with food composition and …

more

SCiFi Foods Cultured Beef Burger

©SCiFi Foods

SCiFi Foods Partners with Michigan State University to Test Scaling of Hybrid Burgers

Cell-based meat startup SCiFi Foods announces a partnership with Michigan State University to help test and finalize the plant-based portion of its first cultivated beef burgers.  SCiFi will work with MSU’s renowned Food Processing and Innovation Center (FPIC) to conduct initial pilot runs for the company’s debut commercial product, which combines plant-based beef with its breakthrough cultivated beef cells. The pilot runs are an important step in product development that will bring the company closer to regulatory approval, SCiFi says. The runs will also help to ensure the scaled product is still delicious, safe, cost-effective, and as nutritionally balanced as possible, the company notes.  Once the final formulation and test runs are complete, the burger’s plant-based portion will be combined with beef cells from SCiFi’s …

more

© Sealpac

SEALPAC Reveals Sustainable Packaging Portfolio for Alt Proteins

Packaging specialist SEALPAC, global supplier of high-tech tray sealers and thermoformers, has developed a number of packaging solutions designed to provide optimal product safety and prevent food waste. The market for products based on alternative proteins is booming. Whether flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan, more and more people are choosing such foods for reasons of sustainability. And in terms of sustainability, plant-based packaging solutions are the next step for many manufacturers in their commitment to more sustainability. Sustainable packaging solutions for alternative proteins Packaging specialist SEALPAC has been dealing with sustainable packaging solutions and their challenges for a long time. As Marketing & Communications Manager at Sealpac International, Marcel Veenstra, explains: “In designing sustainable solutions, it is important not to forget the original function of packaging, …

more

load more